Our Lives Transformed
by Lady of Myth and Legends
Summary: This story's far from those listed above. Almost. It does involve an alien race, an alien war, 2 young women, & wait, mutated genetic powers? A crazed government scientist bent on transforming humans into bio-weapons? A group of humans who might stand a chance at taking down Decepticons & a possible romance? What kind of story is this? Well it's ours. OCxSides OCxSunny. No Lemons.
1. Intro

**Hey everyone, this is my very first _Transformers _fanfic so go a bit easy on me. I've been a TransFan for about two or three years so I'm kinda new to this. However, my sister, Sunstreaker's Charge, has been a TransFan for about five or six years so she knows a heck of a lot more than me. But not to worry, I've done intense research ****so I'm not totally ignorant. Alright, now on to the important stuff.**

**This story (**like a lot of the stories on FanFiction**) is based off a dream I've been having recently. Here are a few things you need to keep in mind when reading this fic so you don't get confused or angry or go ape shit on me.**

**1. This story (**from the start of the first chapter**) takes place about a year after Dark of the Moon. That being said, the main characters of this fic don't actually meet the Autobots till about a year _after_ the start of the story. **

**2. Megatron is NOT dead. I have brought him back really because I don't feel like getting rid of him. He needs to be there mostly because, hey, it's Megatron. Sometimes it's best to keep the big bad wolf around.**

**3. Sunstreaker is present! I mean, c'mon people! It's Sunstreaker and Sideswipe! They're twins! SplitSpark twins! You can't have one without the other. That and my sister is a big Sunny (**gotta remember not to call him that**) and 'Sides fan. She's not a fan of the slash stuff, just their close brotherhood. So Sunny's here to join the 'Bots on Earth. Plus, I'm keeping Sunstreaker in his G1 alt form and he is of course, yellow.**

**4. Sideswipe is RED and he also retains his original alt form from G1. Just because, in my personal opinion, he looks sooo much better that way. Nice and original, plus, he looks better in red. But I plan on combining his movie bi-pedal form with the G1 alt. So he still has is movie bi-pedal form, just in red.**

**5. A lot of fans will be pleased (**allotted really**) to know that Ironhide is NOT dead! That's right people, our favorite Weapons Specialist is alive and kicking in this fic of mine. I personally like his Bay-verse alt form (**black GMC Topkick**) a heck of a lot better than his G1 alt mode. So that's one of the things that stays the same.**

**6. I'm not a huge fan of the Chevy Twins, Skids and Mudflap, so I'm editing them out. I just don't like their constant bickering and fighting. I really feel that Bay downgraded the quality of Sunny and 'Sides canon brotherhood and their original comic relief placement in _Transformers_. So Skids and Mudflap won't be appearing, if this upsets anyone, I'm sorry. **

**7. Also I plan on bringing Jazz back into the picture. It's not going to be a revival or anything, he's more or less . . . there. I really like his character so I going to do the same with him like I'm doing with Ironhide. Jazz just DIDN'T die. I know that messes with canon, but it's my dream and in it Jazz is alive and well. So there.**

**8. Despite the story being a romance and rated M, the story is not rated so because of the romance. It's rated because of language and GORE! The romance in itself is only rated T.**

**Remember, this was a dream I had and I'm sticking to what my brain came up with. I go by the whole, 'Don't like, Don't read' thing. It makes sense, why read something you don't find interesting? Right? Anyway, I'm just putting that out there so no one starts up that this isn't canon or this is stupid and all that whatnot. I write because I enjoy it and I like writing things that maybe most people won't. I'm trying to be original and besides, I think its cool.**

**I'm sorry this isn't a chapter, I know I got you all interested and all, but please wait me out. The info above will come in handy for when I really start posting. However, I will leave you with this teaser down below and I hope you'll enjoy it and let me know if you thing it's worth something.**

**ONE MORE THING! Please people, don't steal my idea or teaser! I've seen a bit of it going around (**though some of it is through Author's permission but that's different**). I don't want to come back and find someone has taken it and turned it into something of their own creation. If it has inspired and you want to use the GENERAL idea (**no taking my oc's names, descriptions, personalities, abilities, highly detailed plot, and most of all MY EXACT LINES! etc**)** **then please PM me and let me know.**

**If you're not that good at writing DON'T STOP TRYING! But make sure it comes from YOUR heart, that's all that matters. That's my opinion on the matter. I know a lot of writers out there on Fanfiction who aren't perfect. None of us are really. A lot of them have a lot to learn about grammar and the way it works. I have noticed that those are the kind of people who get the WORST reviews and that saddens me. They had the courage to write that fic, put it out there for the world to see, and all they get for trying is harsh and uncaring words!**

**Then, because of that, they either give up or they resort to stealing other people ideas just so they could gain some acceptance on this site. THIS IS NOT HOW THIS SITE IS SUPPOSED TO WORK! So please people, please! Try to be honest and TRY to be ENCOURAGING! If a person is having issues, let them know what they CAN DO to IMPROVE! Don't tell them they suck, give them something to work with so they can IMPROVE!**

**Anyway, here is my teaser for Our Lives Transformed. Enjoy.**

**Our Lives Transformed**

You've probably heard or read stories about ordinary people, who live ordinary lives, who just happen to get involved with an ancient autonomous robotic alien race and getting caught up in ancient alien race's war. Then you have the stories about said ordinary people, living said ordinary lives, being transferred to a different dimension or reality to met said ancient autonomous robotic alien race and then getting involved with said ancient alien war.

_And then_ you have the stories that conclude of said ordinary people, living said ordinary lives, being transferred to said other dimension or reality, meeting said alien race, getting caught up in said alien war, and _then_ transforming into _a member_ of said alien race!

This story . . . is far from any of those listed above. Well . . . almost. It does involve an ancient autonomous robotic alien race, an ancient autonomous robotic alien race's war, two seemingly ordinary young women, and . . . wait . . . mutated genetic powers? A crazed government scientist bent on transforming innocent humans into bio-weapons? A group of humans who might just have a chance on taking down Decepticons? And . . . a possible romance?

What kind of story is this!

Well, it's ours.

**Short and sweet, I hope you like this little taste of what's coming.**


	2. Homecoming

**Hey everyone! I know you all are pretty happy that I finally posted a real chapter on this thing. I'm sorry about the wait, but I'm still sorting out the kinks in the chain of how I want this to play out. Anyway, like I said in the teaser, this is my first TransFic. So a little leadway here would be nice.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, that honor belongs to Hasbro. I also (**for future references**) do not own Dr. Cervarious, he belongs to Gargoyles.**

**I however, DO own several all the OC's that will be making an appearance. Also, this story does contain certain oc's that are based off real people (**me, my sister Raph'sNinjaGirl, my parents, and two of my friends who don't belong to this site**.) It's kinda like a self insert story, but a heck of a lot better.**

**Our Lives Transformed**

**Chapter One: Homecoming**

*cue _Transformers_ track: Arrival to Earth*

_Biloxi__, __Mississippi__; Keesler Air Force Base_

"I'm home!" I called as I stepped through the screen door of our housing unit.

What a feeling it was to be home! I just came back from my first year at college, now came the big step . . . choosing what profession I wanted to go into. I still wasn't sure what I wanted to be, there were so many options that held my interest. For example, I really like Forensic Science. I'd always been a fan of CSI: Miami and NCIS, so I was thinking of going into that.

Then again, being an animal control officer held my attention because I loved animals. With my grades (_they were mostly A's and B's_), it still wasn't good enough for Vet school. Then again, I really liked Literature and English, the only real thing I was passionate about during middle and high school.

It was the _area_ in that I excelled the most and my reading level had been at college standards since I was in six grade. My teachers were always astounded at them, but many of my teachers simply thought I found a way to cheat the system. I had several that just plain hated me, but that's no surprise really. We all have several of those throughout our lives.

Anyway, I was home. Home! For a good solid two weeks. My parents and younger sister lived on base while I rented a small, cheap apartment not far from the university. You see, my dad's a military man, a major for the USAF! That's United States Air Force to you. He doesn't do much combat though; he's a medic and works the ER at the hospital on base.

Though he was deployed years back when I was three to Kuwait for nine months and I remember he got back just in time for my fourth birthday. But that was years ago, I'm nineteen now and dad hasn't been deployed since. Not that I'm not proud of him and the service he does, it's just I would worry too much if he was over in hostile territory. Though everyone feels that way when your parent or parent's are in the service.

No I'm really proud of him and all he does, me though; I know I could never do it. I'm not cut out for the military; I'm too happy and bubbly. I can't keep a straight face to save my life, I've tried . . . I erupt into a fit giggles and nearly suffocate, I laugh so hard. I laugh at everything, bad jokes, good jokes, random sentences that aren't supposed to be funny. Everything. It's just who I am.

"Katie?' My dad called from the living room. "That you Sweetling?"

_'Huh, I guess he's off for the day.'_

I chuckled to myself, after all, who else would it be?

"Hey dad!" I shouted back. "Coming!"

I headed down the hall towards the living room, but stopped when I reached my sister's bedroom which happened to be open. Her room hadn't changed a bit. It still looked like a tornado had passed through. Clothes littered the floor, along with several books, skeins of yarn, and what looked to be the remnants of a notebook. Her bookshelves lined the south wall next to her closet, while her dresser was pushed up against the west side.

Her desk was a corner style and sat in the far right corner and her bed was lined against the north wall, right next to the doorway. Yep, not a bit has changed since I left. My sister was lying on her stomach spread-eagle on her bed with her nose in one of the many books on Egypt she owned and clad in gold basketball shorts and a gray shirt that sported a smiling light bulb that read "Save energy, don't talk to me."

That was Amy for you, full of sarcasm, but if it was one of the things she was a complete expert on, it was Egypt. She knew everything about the gods and goddesses, their culture, their customs, the architecture, and even the language. She was a walking encyclopedia for everything Egypt. In my opinion, she knew more about the country than even the people who lived there. I repeatedly told her that she should be a professor in Egyptology for an Ivy League college; she would be an awesome teacher.

I leaned against the doorway and waited a moment to see if she would realize that I was there. She didn't move a muscle except to turn to the next page, her eyes scanning the paper with intense concentration. I heaved a small sigh, same old Amy. Though I was much the same, cause whenever I was in the middle of a good book the world around me died away and all I knew was the story within its pages. As much as I hated to pull her away, I gave a loud cough to get her attention. Her head snapped up so fast I thought she might have pulled a muscle.

"_What?_" She snapped, then her eyes widened in surprise when she recognized me. "Kate?"

The deer-in-the-headlights expression caused me to burst into a full out in fit of laughter and snorts. I bent over to try to force air into my lungs, but the image of her wide eyed expression only brought the giggles back full force. Unfortunately, I don't have that cute kind of laughter. It can be more described as the hyenas in "The Lion King" or the cackling of the Wicked Witch of the West. Basically, I sound like I'm having a fit or something.

It's a very weird kind of laugh and the scary thing is I have many different kinds. About twenty-five different kinds of laughter, giggles, cackles, and even a bray or two. Once a friend of mine told me he didn't want to be in a dark room with me and no way out. Not the kind of laughter most girls like to give off. But I don't really care, my laugh is unique and if people think I'm crazy . . . let 'em.

"_Damn it,_ Katie!" She screamed at me, her voice raising an octave or two. "Don' _do_ tha'!"

I flinched, then ducked as the book on Egypt went sailing past my head. I barely missed getting face planted by the heavy tome.

"Hey! Is that any way to treat your big sister who came home to see you?" I shot back at her, but I couldn't help the small smile spreading across my face.

_'Same old Amy. Hasn't changed a bit.'_

She scoffed at me, but I could see the small smile on her own face. "Wha' da ya mean "big" sister? I'm what now? Six inches taller than ya?"

I winced. Did she just play the 'I'm-taller-than-you-and-you-can't-do-shit-about-it' card? Cause I think she just did.

"Oh yeah?" I said, going into full teasing mode now. "Despite the fact that you are taller than me doesn't change the fact that you'll always be my little sister."

I said the last part in a baby like voice to get my point across. She hated it when I did that and just like a charm, her face fell and a tinge of red flooded her face. Not from embarrassment, but from anger. She wasn't really angry, just slightly annoyed with me. It was a game we played since we were kids: how far we can we push Amy or Katie today? But it was all good fun. Mom didn't understand it cause it sounded like we were fighting when we were actually just bonding.

That's just the way our sisterhood works. Despite our differences, and boy do we have some, we were thick as thieves. Probably even thicker. It someone hurt the other, the other sister would beat the crap out of them. If a boy broke the others heart, the opposite sister would be there to help pick up the pieces and send the poor bastard to the seventh layer of hell. We would always be there for each other, cause in many cases, we were all the other had.

We never did have many friends and though Amy is going to be a sophomore this coming August, she still hasn't found the right sort of people for her yet. I have a few choice people myself, but only three real good friends that I can count on no matter what. We also moved around a lot due to dad being in the Air Force, so we left a lot of friends behind in the moves. Most of which we've fallen out of contact with but, we still have each other.

In a way, since we move together, my best friend always moved with me. I may not always get along with her, but she's still my sister and I would do anything to keep her safe and happy. We've been through a lot together and that only made us realize that family is the most important thing a person can have. When the world's against you, at least you have family to back you up.

"You know, you're really annoying." Amy smirked as she jumped off the bed so she could punch me in the arm.

"Ow!" I whined, rubbing the sore spot and pretending to be hurt. "Why are you so violent?"

"Oh come on! Tha' didn' hurt!" She protested, rolling her eyes at me and exiting the room.

"Hey! Where're you going?"

"I'm hungry! Ya want ta talk, then ya follow me."

I just shook my head. Yes, it was sure good to be home. I missed my family.

"Hey! Wait up!"

**_Diner that evening_**

"So he says to me, 'Where've you been all my life?' and I said to him, 'Hiding from you!''

Dad erupted into a fit of booming laughter, almost choking on the ribeye steak and potatoes that we were eating. Mom just shook her head in a sad sort of way but couldn't help giggling a bit under her breath. Amy on the other hand just snorted and shook her head in a similar fashion as mom's.

"When are these dingbats goin' ta learn that you're not interested? Aye mean seriously, tha' pickup line is one of da oldest in da book. He's goin' ta need more than tha' if he wants a chance with ya."

I shrugged, "Don't know, 'sides, I'm not interested anyway. I've got a lot on my plate already, don't need to add more to it."

A relationship wasn't at the top of my 'Things to Do' list at the moment. After my last (_and sadly, my first_) engagement with the opposite sex, I wasn't in a hurry to jump back into the dating pool. It had ended badly and I pretty much fell out of the idea of trying again.

"Still be nice to marry you off someday though." Dad commented when he got his barings back.

I choked on the piece of meat I had been chewing at the sudden and unexpected comment. I sputtered and coughed, trying to get the damn thing down so I could talk.

"Wha . . !" I exclaimed, my voice breaking.

I must have had a strange look on my face, cause at that point the table burst into another round of roaring laughter. Great, just great. I come home, make a fool of myself, and become the laughing stalk of the family. Nope, nothing's changed a bit around here.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Laugh it up. Let's all tease Katie now that she's back from college." I muttered good-naturally, a grin forming at my lips.

This was my crazy family, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

"How long are you staying by the way?" Mom asked, leaning back and brushing her red hair out of her face.

It wasn't natural, after all, she was fifty-one, but she's still pretty in my opinion. She stands at a height of five feet exactly and had these nice olive-green eyes with a ring of light blue around them. They were very unique as I've never seen anyone with eyes like that before. She's slightly over weight and a bit round, not fat, just . . a little pudgy. She had a very strong personality, always on time with any and all events. Always at the school plays, martial arts tournaments, and school banquets for my speech team. She's always there when I need to talk and always has the right advice for the right predicament.

Though, she and I are so much alike that it results in frequent arguments. We look alike, we act alike, and we share a lot of the same views. One would think we would get along without a hitch, but we don't always. We can get into some pretty bad shouting matches, slam the doors to our rooms, and not come out for hours. But when we do, we always made up and laugh about how silly the fight was and how it wasn't really worth it.

As for how we look alike, though mom's hair is dyed red its original color was black with red highlights. Natural red highlights, yeah I never heard of that happening either; but it makes her unique. I have natural curly, red hair cut in a very short style (_it's so short that the curls just lay on my head_), bright light blue eyes, and millions of freckles that dot my face, neck, arms, and legs. I also have a pale complexion, but I'm not a total ghost and I stand at about four foot six and a half. Yeah, the shortness comes from my mom's side of the family; lucky for Amy she doesn't have the gene. That's why she's so much taller than I am even though I'm three years older than her.

Though I look like mom, a great deal of my quirkiness comes from my dad. My dad also has black hair, but he always has it in a buzz cut so you can't really tell. He's broad chested, very strong, and very, very tall. He stands a little over six feet and has the biggest feet I've ever seen, but he's extremely intelligent. Extremely. He knows more about tanks than any of the professors at my college, he can do Algebra 2 in his head without a calculator, and he reads at ninety miles per hour. No joke. He has a very dry sense of humor and can lean on the perverted side, but he's a great guy. Oh and he's klutzy, very klutzy. That's where I get my gracefulness or rather, lack there of.

I trip over everything, even air. I even trip going up stairs, not down and I seem to manage to fall over everything put in front of me. Needless to say why my parents never put in in any dance classes. Ok, so I'm, not graceful. But I have inherited my father's reading comprehension and speed. I can remember everything I read and am capable of reading a hundred and thirty words per minute. That's pretty fast. I'm also a Lit freak.

I enjoy reading the classics such as Shakespeare, Charles Dickens, O. Henry, Edgar Allen Poe, H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, T.H. White. E.B. White, Richard Adams, Louisa May Alcott, Emily Bronte, Lloyd Alexander, and many, many others. Needless to say I love reading. But I enjoy other books besides the classics such as Harry Potter, the Inkheart Trilogy, the Shadow Children sequence, Warriors, the mangas Bleach, Inuyasha, and Fruits Basket, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and the Inheritance series.

I'm not that boring, at least I hope not. Anyway, my family can be kinda strange but that's what I love about them. We've got to be the most abnormal, dysfunctional family out there. But I wouldn't change them for the world.

"I'll be here for about two weeks." I replied, shoving a potato into my mouth and chewing. "I was able to take some time off work with Professor Collins. He's trying to get a group together to . . ."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Amy waved her fork in the air and pretended to look bored. "No offense Kate, but can't we talk 'bout something that's _not_ related ta school?"

I rolled my eyes at her intense sarcasm and grumbled irritably under my breath. I hardly ever got to talk to them about Professor Collins, a Literature professor at the university. A professor that I sorely wish was mine, and no, not in the way you think. I wish he was my Literature professor in the sense of teaching wise; he at least, makes it enjoyable.

He and I met at one of the Starbucks on campus and from there, we became colleagues. I help do his paperwork, he pays me, and I get free Lit lectures. I know that doesn't sound that appealing, but to me, it was haven. Collins basically practices his Lit lectures while I finish grading his student's papers. Afterward, he'll ask me if he explained the content in such a way that his students would understand.

I was pretty much his 'practice' lecture audience and I would do my best to help him out. Once, I even wrote out a whole lecture for him and he gave it in front of one of his classes! The next day while I was staying late to grade papers, he came up to me and said that I should do ALL his lectures!

And so I became his partner in Literature lecturing. Needless to say, I love it!

"Gee thanks guys." I retorted, trying my own hand at sarcasm for the day.

"Glad ta be o' service." My sister shot back, a great big Cheshire Cat grin on her face. "Anything else Aye can do for ya?"

"No thanks," I replied, trying to sound as much like Raph from the _TMNT (2007)_ film. "I'm good."

Amy and I also happen to be BIG Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fans. We've watched every season that ever aired, all three live action films, plus the recent CGI film that aired in 2007. I tend to favor Donatello the most cause of his weapon (_which I'm currently trained in_) and for his passive nature, I'm a lot like him in that category.

Amy on the other hand, loves Raphael who's basically the hot-head of the group. However, he does have a soft side, he just hates showing it. He is fiercely independent, but has a passion for protecting his family. He'll kick anyone's ass if they have ill will towards his bros and father.

Amy snorted at my pitiful attempt. Oh well, at least I tried. "Epic fail. Ya can' do a Brooklyn ascent worth a . . ."

At this point, mom decided now was the time to play Ref. Her tone came out sharp and full of warning, "All right you two . . Enough is enough."

Like I said, mom doesn't understand the way we connect at all.


	3. Why I Hate Shopping

**Sorry about the wait people! I know you've been dying for an update and so here it is! Chapter two! Hurray! ***Throws cyber cookies to awaiting fans* **I hope all of you enjoy and please remember to leave a review or pm me and let me know what you think. **

**P.S. Please just keep in mind that it might be two to three chapters before any real action starts and about four to six before the Autobots make an appearance. Sorry, but I'm still setting the stage for all of you Transfans out there.**

**Chapter Two**

**Why I Hate Shopping**

"Will someone please remind me why I'm here again?" I asked no one in particular, mostly because I knew I wasn't going to get an answer back.

Amy, who had the bright idea of wanting to go to the small shopping district near the beach, decided to drag me along for the ride as well. I hated shopping, or at least, some shopping. If it was looking for cute, but semi-practical shirts, okay (t_hough I preferred V necks the best_). If it was for long, multicolored, funky gypsy skirts, sweet! If the store in question was Hot-Topic, hell to the yeah!

But my sister decided to go . . . jean shopping. Not that I didn't like jeans, I love them! At least, when I can find a pair that fit. Because of my four feet and six inch tall stature, finding pants was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. Not to mention my waist size was about forty inches, but maybe that's not too bad. Is forty inches bad? I can't remember sizes well. Anyway . . here I was sitting on yet another comfortable bench, in yet another store (_this one Forever 21_), watching my sis try on yet another pair of light, form fitting, blue-jeans.

I hate shopping for pants. It didn't help that my sister was a perfect zero either. Me, my size was all over the place. What fit me in one size didn't fit me in another. Currently, the nice black work pants (_the ones that actually complemented my waist and legs_) I was wearing now, were a size eleven. But I owned several other jeans, soccer shorts, and workout pants that ranged from six to eleven. That's in . . what? Juniors or Women? _Arrg!_ I don't know anymore!

Needless to say, I just buy what fits and what makes me comfortable. I don't pay attention to the size, just as long as they fit and don't try to cut off my circulation. That's all I care about. For example, I hate skinny jeans. You just can't move in them! What if some creep chases you and you can't get away because of them! They're sooo impractical.

"Because o' darlin' sista of mine, I need a few pairs and I need your opinion." Amy repeated for maybe the tenth time that afternoon.

I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest. "Since when do you need _my _approval to do or buy anything? You never listen to me anyway."

She cracked another one of her famous evil grins, "Oh I listen ta you, I just don' follow."

I snorted at her response; I walked right into that one. She then decided that the current pair of white washed blue jeans she had on didn't fit her style and headed back towards the changing rooms. As soon as her size zero figure disappeared around a pair of racks, I released a long sigh. Thank goodness, some peace and quiet.

No more 'Do you think this makes my ass look fat?' or 'Is this too tight?' or "I think the Levi's fit better than these.' At least, not for a while. I let my head fall into my hands, running my digits through my short curls. I didn't know how much more of this torture I could take from her. Maybe I should just . . .

"Stop! Thief!" A young woman's panicked shriek brought me out of my thoughts.

I looked up and rose to my feet in order to find the source of the cry. About twenty feet away to my right, a guy in his late teens or early twenties was running at break neck speed from a brunette who sported a pink V-neck shirt, a deep blue jean mini-skirt, and who appeared to be in her mid-teens. The reason to why he was running: a rather large, bright blue handbag clutched to his chest. He looked about five six, with olive tan skin, and black hair cut in a rather shaggy style. He was dressed in a black and red plaid shirt that had the sleeves rolled up to the elbows, a pair of dark blue jeans, and sported a pair of black high-top converse.

And he was headed right towards me.

Maybe I should take this time to point something out: I hate fighting. If there's even the slightest hope of talking your way out of something, I'll take it. Besides, I'm four foot six! I can't always use brute force to take someone out! I'm sure as hell not always _able _to! I'm the peaceful one out of the two of us, the one who tries to find a way _out _of conflict. Amy's the one who has no problem throwing herself head on into a fight without a moments thought. She just reacts.

But, then again, the guy just up and stole a girl's purse and from the looks of it, has no intention of listening to reason. This is why I hate men! They don't learn anything unless you _beat_ it into them! Looks like I might actually get to use some of that Tae Kwon Do skill of mine. Oh well.

I exhaled slowly, and then stepped into the middle of the aisle; knowing full well he was just going to throw out an arm to knock me out of the way. No way was I going to let this creep past me though. I braced myself when he got close enough to touch and, true to form, he switched the bag from his left to his right in order for him to throw out the left arm and knock me out of the way.

"Outta my way kid!" He snarled, his voice gruff and gravely with a hint of a Cajun ascent.

_'Oh, so I'm a kid huh? Typical.'_

As his arm came towards me, I shifted slightly to my right and ducked just enough so the swing missed me by an inch. Now since he didn't hit me, momentum took over because of the amount of force he put into the swing. This left his whole right side open to a counter attack. I took the opportunity to land an elbow smash to the creep's floating ribs with enough force that he doubled over in pain, grunting as he clutched his side. Wasting no time in allowing him to recover, I kneed him in the face as hard as I could.

He cried out in both pain and surprise as he felt my knee connect with his mouth and nose. The teen let go of the bag so he could bring his hands to his face, as if the action would bring some relief. Now that he was no longer holding the bag, I kicked it in the direction of its owner and leaving no chance for the thief to regain possession of it_. _While he was still grasping his face in pain, I looked up to see the owner pulling her bag out from under one of the racks. At least it was now out of the creep's grasp.

_'At least she has it back.'_

I heaved a small sigh. Now what? I looked down, Mr. Purse-Snatcher was getting back on his feet; one hand still clutched to his face and looking none to happy with me.

_'Crap.'_

"You're gonna wish you hadn't done that." His voice came out thick with both pain and anger; his brown eyes glittered with rage.

_'Double crap.'_

I stiffened and stumbled backwards; trying to put as much distance between me and him. The only thing I had really done was kick the hornets nest, I barely scratched him. Now realizing that I hadn't done as much damage as I had hoped to, I knew my best chance was to try and outrun him. Luckily, there was plenty of racks to weave around and possibly hide in. If it was one thing I was always good at as a kid, it was hide-and-seek. That and limbo. How I _love_ limbo.

_'Guess I'm gonna see how good I _really_ am.'_

"Um . . bye!"

I took off as fast as I could into the sea of racks to my left; the teen's heavy footfalls echoing right behind me. I darted right, then left, then left again, then right again. My heart pounded fiercely against my chest, blood roared in my ears, and I felt my legs cramp in pain as I pushed them to go even faster. I didn't pay any attention to where I was going, just as long as he didn't catch me.

"Kate?" I heard my sister call from where we were previously having our little fashion show. "Where 're ya?"

Knowing that she was the better fighter out of the two of us (_she wasn't the strongest, but she was quicker than me_), I turned left and doubled back; leading the creep back towards my sister. We worked better as a team anyway. I was the strongest and provided the best distractions, while Amy was more covert and devious. Together, we would stand a chance. Apart, no way. We double teamed everything**. **As I threw myself around another rack, my Katie Luck (_that's what mom, dad, and Amy call it_) started working true to form. I slipped on the polished tile and fell sideways just as my sister came into view.

"Honestly Kate," She started, annoyed with the fact I both up and disappeared on her _and_ practically fell over my own two feet. "Can't ya go one day without . . ?"

But before she had the chance to continue the lecture (_or for me to get up for that matter_), my assailant took advantage of my current state and grabbed me by the waist from behind. He hauled me to my feet (and none to gently I might add), gripped my upper left arm in such a way that I couldn't swing my arm back to get a hit in, and pinned my wrist against my upper back so I wouldn't use that one either. All in all . . a rather humiliating position for one trained in martial arts. Okay, so I only made it to blue belt but hey, who's counting?

"Nice try girly." He growled in the shell of my ear, his grip on my wrists tightening.

_'Girly? Really? That's all you can up with?'_

I tried to pull away, thrashing violently against his grip. Even stomping on his foot a good few times, but his hold held true. I wasn't strong enough to pull away. Amy, who for a moment was deeply confused by the scene before her, snapped out of it and shouted angrily at the jerk.

"Hey bastard!" Her tone was dark and full of warning. "If ya want ta keep those hands of ya's, Aye sugges' ya remove 'em from my sista . . NOW!"

I knew that tone. It was her You-Don't-Want-to-Piss-Me-Off tone, mixed in with a little Keep-Pushing-Me-and-I'll-Break-Your-Arm-in-Two attitude. She was in full Fight-'Till-Someone's-Dead mode and I'm not exaggerating one little bit. Piss her off in the right way and I'll guarantee you she'll send you on a one way trip to HurtyTown. If you know how Raphael works from TMNT (_and that's in any continuity, plus all the movies_) then you have Amy pegged. She's a female Raphael plain and simple. No if's, and's, or but's.

This bastard . . was toast. And not in a good way. Is there a good way to be toast? Anyway . . .

"Oh really?" The guy cocked an eyebrow at her, his tone mocking and full of scorn.

He didn't believe for an instant that Amy could take him. Though, it was hard to believe. She was a size zero, thin as a toothpick, and about six inches taller than I was (_remember, I'm only 4'6_). She was all skin and bones, however, those skin and bones could hurt like hell if she used them right.

She could stick you with her elbow, jab the bone into a pressure point, and have you squealing like a pig. Trust me; I've been on the receiving end of one of those. It's not fun. The look Amy gave him was enough to want to make me want to shrink into a turtle shell or crawl under a rock. She was glaring daggers at him like I've never seen before. Okay, let me rephrase my statement from a little while ago . . she just switched from full Fight-'Till-Someone's-Dead mode to her Your-A-Walking-Sack-O'-Meat glare.

"You're in trouble now Birdsong." I whispered low under my breath, hoping he'd take the bait.

He shifted his attention from Amy's glaring to my taunting. Faze one: Complete. He took it.

"What was that . . _midget_?" He snarled at me, leaning into my face and letting me get a whiff of . . . I'm not sure I even _want_ to know.

Honestly! Hasn't he heard of personal space before? Apparently not. That and by the smell of it he's never heard of toothpaste either, or mouthwash even.

_'Wait . . did he just . . ? Ah _**_HELL _**_no!'_

"Ya just screwed ya self ass_hole_." Amy flashed him a knowing smirk and shook her head in a sad way.

You know how I said Amy had some real anger management issues? Well, I have my own Irish Temper that can match even her bouts of rage, but I conquered my temper years ago and don't get angry that often. But now? This sorry bastard just sealed his death warrant. He crossed the line with me. The big line that everyone who knows me knows not to ever cross. Never, ever, _ever _under_ any _circumstances . . . call . . me . . midget. That sorry excuse for a human being is beyond dead meat.

"What . . was . . that?" I asked calmly, letting a sweet smile cross my face, and closing my eyes for good measure. Just to make him feel safe.

I heard his breath hitch slightly, as if debating his answer. I couldn't see him, but I felt his breathing pick up and his heartbeat accelerate.

"Have fun in Hades . . _Jackass_." I spat venomously at him through gritted teeth.

I let my eyes flash open at a speed I didn't even know I possessed and launched myself at his face. He didn't have time to even throw up an arm to block me from sinking my fingernails into his cheek. He let out a howl of pain as I clawed at his face and even delivered a punch of two to his liver. However, before I could do much more, he grabbed my wrists in order to restrain me from doing anymore damage. Knowing that I couldn't pull out of his iron tight grip, I aimed a perfect shot to where the sun doesn't shine with my left foot.

The look on his face was priceless. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates, his face pale considerably, and his mouth hung open in a big O. His grip on me went slack so I ripped my hands away from him, but tripped in the attempt to put as much distance between us. I stumbled backward but continued to scoot along the floor till I was about ten feet from him. The teen then fell to the floor and curled in on himself as he tried to recover from the blow. I winced, that's gonna hurt in the morning.

Suddenly, I felt two hands clutch my shoulders in a vice like grip. Now, seeing as I don't always think before I act at times (_alright, maybe all the time_) I immediately thought I was being attacked. I caught one of the wrists in a hold of my own, twisted the wrist just so that the unknown attacker yelped in pain, and then whipped around to face my new opponent.

_Smack!_

Before I could react, a tan hand flew into my line of vision and collided with the skin of my cheek, causing me to cry out at the sudden blow to my face.

"Wha' the freakin' hell!" Amy's harsh, high-octave pitch hissed dangerously as I rubbed my stinging cheek. "Tha' _hurt_ damn it!"

Now realizing that my would-be assailant was indeed my own sister, I had the decency to look sheepish. I shook my head, trying to clear my mind and get a handle on myself. Why did I always end up hitting the _wrong_ person? Why couldn't I go one day without making stupid mistakes or tripping at the most inconvenient times or kicking something that would only result in hurting me more than the thing I'm kicking or getting off track in conversations? Why? Because it's me. Dad says I wouldn't be me without those things and that they make me who I am; though all that proves is that I'm just fun to laugh at. I don't seem to have a use for anything else.

Of course while I was distracted by my sore cheek and my wandering thoughts, Amy saw the opportunity to Gibbs' me upside the head. If you've never watched NCIS, you don't know what you're missing. Basically, this ex-Marine (Leroy Jethro Gibbs) who works for NCIS (_Navel Criminal Investigative Service_) leads a team of investigators (_Timothy McGee, Tony DiNozzo, Ziva David_) and has the tendency to Gibbs Smack (_a smack to the back of one's head_) a teammate (_or teammates in some cases_) when they break one of his 'rules' or when they get off subject or when they do something stupid. It's fun to watch, that is, when you're not the one being hit.

Since watching the show Amy (_and unfortunately my mom and dad_) have taken up the habit of Gibbsing me whenever I tend to do something dumb or miss the obvious. Needless to say, it's a wonder I haven't sustained some sort of brain damage already since that happens quite a lot. But, who's to say I haven't?

"I'm sorry!" I whined, putting up my hands to block her vicious attempts to Gibbs me to death. "I didn't know it was you!"

"Who else would it be ya idiot!" She shouted at me, still trying to get a few shots in at the back of my skull. "Voldemort?"

Wow. She must be pissed at me; she made a Harry Potter reference. Not that she didn't like Harry Potter, but she wasn't the rabid, crazed, know-it-all, psycho manic fan that I was. Between all the Gibbsing going on, I somehow managed to stand up in the effort to escape her attacks.

"Okay, okay, okay!" I protested, trying not to sound like a whiny little kid. "I get it! Leave off already! I yield! I yield!"

She did stop, but rolled her eyes in clear annoyance. We had such a unique big sister, little sister relationship didn't we?

"Grow a backbone fo' once, will ya." She snapped at me. "So, what we do 'bout 'im?"

Amy gestured to Mr. Purse-Snatcher who still laid in a crumpled heap on the title floor, a small group of on-lookers not far away whispering at us. I leaned my head back and groaned. Great. Just great. I can see just how we're going to explain this. Oh well you see Mr. Mall Cop, that guy there stole that lady's purse so I'd thought I be a hero and catch him. But you see, I knocked him down and he didn't like it so he chased me around for a minute then I tripped and ended up kicking him you-know-where and yeah. That's it. Great explanation Katie, you're a national hero all right.

I faced-palmed, this just wasn't my day.

**Well? What'ya think? Good? Bad? I know this wasn't that exciting but just wait a chapter or two, then it'll pick up I promise. Anyway, hit that nice review button and give me a shout out if you please! I love hearing from my people or people in general anyway.**

**Thanks again for reading and let me know how I'm doing.**


	4. Sometimes I Wonder About You

**Hello, I'm back again. I think I'm really on the ball with this story of mine, cause it's already Chapter Three! Totally awesome sauce! Okay that was cheesy, I know but I'm sooo excited about it! So without further ado, here's Chapter Three.**

**Chapter Three**

**Sometimes I Wonder about You**

After getting Mr. Purse-Snatcher put away for a month or two and then having to explain the whole scenario to the mall cop (_he wasn't so sure I was totally there in the head_), I decided that we should do something less harmful or at least, something that doesn't involve shopping. Such as going to the beach! I loved the ocean! The feeling of sand between your toes, the cool water splashing against your ankles, seashell hunting (_really, who doesn't love seashell hunting_?), and just . . . being.

Okay, maybe not the most exciting thing in the world but I like it. It makes me feel calm and it helps me think. Though, Amy says I should use that brain of mine when we really need it (_cough . . like back at the mall . . cough_), but I digress. I don't always look before I jump or think before I act or look where I'm going or . . .

"Remind meh why Aye'm here again?" Amy's bored tone brought me out of my little thinking hour.

I rolled my eyes, why can't we just agree on one simple thing? I hated shopping for jeans and she hated the beach, or at least, she hated getting sand in her shoes or in between her toes. Okay, maybe she was good with the toes. Wait . . Why didn't she like the beach again? I seemed to have forgotten.

"Because," I began, trying to uphold a decent conversation with her while trying not to trip on the stone steps that lead down to the shore. "The beach is fun! It's peaceful, plus there are all kinds of shells to collect!"

I stopped at about the fourth or fifth step and just took in the whole scene around me. It was early evening now (_it took awhile to settle everything at the mall_) and the sky a ablaze with many shades of oranges, yellows, reds, and pinks. It was a palate of vibrant colors that made up a beautiful scene. This was my favorite time to go to the beach, because I got to watch the sunset.

I like sunsets better than sunrises, mostly because it's the end of yet another day and it gives me time to think about what could happen tomorrow. It seems the only time I really think is when I'm alone, it's mostly when I can voice my opinions out loud with no one to judge me. I also find a lot of writing inspiration that the beach; what with the all the sounds and smells and feelings and whatnot. It's my small little haven, I don't know what I would do without a beach.

Many of Biloxi's citizens were already packing up for the evening. Folding towels and picnic blankets, gathering up all the goggles and playthings, putting away leftover food, and the standard 'try-and-get-your-children-out-of-the-water' routine. Yep, I sure did miss the beach.

"Ya gonna stand 'here all day or ya comin'?" My sister, who had carried on without me, called about twenty feet away and was already setting up the towels.

I sighed, I did it again. I spaced out in my own thoughts. My mind was prone to wander at times . . . alright all the time, but a girl has to have some time to herself. Right? Well, better not keep her waiting; she tends to get angry when you do that.

"You could have waited ya know!" I called as I hustled down the remaining steps and ended up tripping over a crab who wasn't too happy about someone almost stepping on him.

"Ouch!"

**_About an hour later_**

By this time it had reached seven o'clock and almost everyone had booked it homewards. Amy and I however, were not in the mood to go home just yet. We decided that in another hour we would head that way, but for now we just enjoyed the quiet and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

We both were both laying on our respected towels (_Amy's was a black leopard print surrounded by a maroon border and mine, a Donatello one with his Bo casually slung across his shoulders with his arms hanging over it_)_, _just gazing at the brilliant sky, watching the clouds go by, and just talking about things. It was mostly random things that we would converse about together or something that just happened to be on our minds. It could be about anything.

"Hey Kate?" Amy asked me, breaking the small span of silence that we had settled into a while ago.

"Yeah?" I returned, folding my arms behind my head and closing my eyes.

"Ya 'hink 'here's life out 'here? Ya know, besides us and all."

I sighed, opened my eyes, and stared at the light pink sky above me. Did I think life existed beyond my small little planet? Yes, yes I did and for several reasons. One: I couldn't believe that we were the only intelligent life forms in the universe; after all, we're still finding new species of animals in the oceans all the time. Two: I think it would be a sad little universe with only _humans_ around.

As funny as it may sound, I really didn't fancy our way of life. We as a race were very violent. We've done some pretty nasty, scary shit to each other. We're prejudice against other kinds of people: Blacks, Whites, Mexicans, Asians, ect. We're frightened of what we don't understand and therefore, anything that falls under that category gets blown up, locked away, or . . . well, you get the picture.

That and then there are all the wars over world domination, weapons, and religion. Personally, I don't see how we've survived all this time. I must say, I _hope_ there are other life forms out there; I hate to find out that we only have each other as company.

"I think . ." I paused for a moment to get my thoughts together. "That there has to be life out there. We can't be all there is you know, Ams. It would be a small, sad universe if humans were all there is. We're not that great, all we do is fight. Maybe there are races out there that are peace loving and don't fight all the time. Maybe we could go there and escape all this . . ."

I paused, not even sure what to call all _this_. "I just hope there are other worlds out there that don't have our problems, Amy. I don't want anyone to have to go through what humans_ do_ to each other."

Silence followed soon after my tirade and for a moment, I thought that she had fallen asleep on me. However, after a moment or two she spoke.

"Sometimes Aye wonda about ya Kate."

Seeing as that was an answer I wasn't expecting, I bolted upright. "You're the one who asked! All I did was answer it! Besides, you're the one who asked for _my_ opinion."

I stared at her for a few seconds just glaring while she stared back, a blank expression upon her face. Seconds ticked by, moments ticked by, and then . . .

She cracked one of her famous evil grins and laughed. "Gee Kate, why so serious? No need ta get ya panties in a wad."

I huffed, crossed my arms over my chest, and looked out onto the water. She always finds new ways to get under my skin, but then . . . I cracked a small smile of my own. That's just how she was and I wouldn't change it, though it would be nice for a change if she wasn't so sarcastic with me all the time.

"Though, ya do hav' a point. Aye hope 'here is live ou' 'here. Be a shame if i' was jus' us ya know."

I turned to look at her and found an expression I don't normally find on her. She was smiling, a pure, non-evil smile, like the ones she used to give me when we were still kids. It was a good thing that smile was directed to the stars above; if she had noticed that I noticed it she would have flung sand at me. Wait, stars?

I looked up and there, hanging in the sky, were indeed stars and the inky blackness that nested them. It was then I realized how late it was.

_'Crap! Mom and dad are going to kill me!'_

I needed to get Amy home in time for school the next day; after all, tomorrow was Monday. I sighed, I hated to pull her away from this marvelous seen, but school comes first. At least we spent a good first day back from college together. It was rare that we got to hang nowadays and that saddened me. I loved hanging with my sis, we were the best of friends.

"I hate to break this up Ams, but you got school in the morning and I don't need mom and dad breathing down my neck on my first day back."

She groaned in protest, "Ah Kate! Da Aye hav' ta?"

I glanced once more at the now dark sky, yep; it was time to head back to base. "Yes, now come on. If we don't get to the gate before nine, the guards will switch out and Carl will be there."

I played the Move-Your-Ass-or-Else-Face-Carl card. To all who don't know Carl, he's one of the guards that guard the entrance gate to get on base. And in order to get to our housing unit, you have to be cleared through that gate. Carl was an older man about the age of forty and had strict policies about young people being out past nine. If he caught you past nine trying to get home, he'd end up calling your parents and having them come pick you up with a lecture in tow.

Needless to say, most of the kids on base tried to beat Carl's shift and get there before nine. Luckily for most of us, we got there on Mike's shift, who was the guard before Carl. Mike was pretty cool and sometimes I'd go to the guard house just to talk to him. Though, I had to be careful and not talk for too long (_that was a problem even in itself_) because he would get in trouble for talking and not guarding.

Amy cried out in sheer horror, "Oh god! No' 'im! Any'hing bu' 'im! Let's go!"

Before I could say anything else, Amy had packed up her towel and mine, grabbed our bags, and sprinted towards my car. I blinked. Well, that was fast. I hadn't seen her move that fast since that anime convention two years ago.

"Come on Kate! If we're caugh' by 'im it's ya faul'!"

"Alright I'm coming!" I called up to her.

I took one last look of the ocean, watching the pale moon floating on it's surface and riding the small waves. It sure was a beautiful sight to behold. I shook my head, did an about face, and bolted for the car. However, if I had looked back or had stared at the sky a moment longer, I would have seen a fairly large comet shot across the moon and disappear over the horizon.

**Okay I know what you all are goin to say: This chapter is so short! I know it is I'm sorry, that's sorta how it played out. Also, I'll let you guess on who the comet is. You might be right or you might not. I'll leave it to you to figure it out.**

**Nice chapter in all though, don't you think. You got to see a little insight on how Katie thinks. Oh, if you're wondering what kind of car she drives, it's a 2005 Voltswagon New Beetle convertible. I'll mention it in more detail next chapter.**


	5. Misgivings and Encounter

**Hello again! I have returned once more. Not too much to say on this one except we meet a familiar face in this one. You'll see, it's quite obvious. Sorry there's not much action, but we're only two chapters in and that to me is waaaay to soon to start throwing shit at your faces. Anyway, here's chapter four.**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

'Writing'

**Chapter Four**

**Misgivings and Encounter**

Okay, so maybe I was moping.

First off, we did make it onto base with no sign of Carl and as a plus, I was able to have a good chat with Mike. Nothing special, just the standard: Hey-you're-back-from-college routine. He was glad to see me and told me straight up that I was to come by anytime he was on shift and we'd have lunch or something. Before you ask, no it's not a date. I believe I've already made this clear, but if I haven't . . the thing is I _don't_ date. I had a . . . troubling experience with my last (_and sadly my first_) boyfriend and now I refuse to place my heart with anyone who isn't family. Except for Erin, but he's the exception to the rule.

To those of you who don't know Erin, he's my best guy friend. Alright, I'll be honest with you, he's my _only_ guy friend. It's not that I don't have _good_ guy friends, I do; but I only have one _best _guy friend. The only one I can trust with anything and everything, my shoulder to lean on. My shoulder to cry on if need be and most of all, one of my main pillars of strength. He's always there for me, always boosting my confidence, and always has something positive to say about any situation. The thing about Erin that I like the most? He's probably the only guy in the world who _doesn't_ think I'm weird or crazy or strange or insane or . . .

Okay, I'm rambling again. Sorry.

Basically, Erin has been more of a friend to me . . he's been more like a big brother. Which is kinda weird considering the fact he's my age; nineteen. Where to begin to describe him though? I may as well start with his appearance. He's about six feet, has black hair cut in such a style that causes his hair to fall into his eyes periodically, he's broad shouldered but slightly overweight (_chubby really, but he gives the best bear hugs! Perfect for when you're down in the dumps_), he has a very pale complexion (_though this due to him sitting inside all day playing video games such as Skyrim_), and he wears a pair of black, thin horn rimmed glasses that always finds their way to the very edge of his nose (_this causes him to constantly push them back up_).

His personality on the other hand is a horse of a different color. He's a jovial character at heart and very in-tune to a person's emotions; he's very empathetic. Throughout our high school career, he has never raised his voice at anyone; even those who may have deserved it. He never dances around the bush, if he has something to say, he'll say it (_but unlike other guys, he does so with tact_). But one of his most important qualities (_or in my opinion anyway_) he is fiercely loyal to his friends or to those who have very few. He may be a gentle giant at heart, but you don't want to get on his bad side. He once created a band of friends and supporters online to help stop some of the cyberbullying that was occurring on a particular site.

He looks out for those in need of a friend and once you enter his heart, it is almost impossible to leave. Not that I tried to leave or anything, it's just the unwavering loyalty he has towards me that astounds me at times. He has a hell of a lot more confidence in me than I do. He tells me all the time that I'm one of the smartest people he knows and that I have a chance of changing the world. Sometimes I don't know whether to believe him or not. Not that I think he would lie to me, just that I don't think I _can_ really do the things he says I can.

I'm not a leader, I'm not fit to be one. Plain and simple.

Anyway, it had been about a day or so since the mall incident and Amy said I've been moping about it for long enough. Humph! What does she know anyway? Oh wait, quite a bit actually. Damn! I hate the fact that she knows me too well! Okay, so I ended up making a fool out of myself more than actually helping. Yes I was able to recover the woman's purse but I also could have gotten myself (_or anybody else for that matter_) killed. How you might ask? Surprisingly? The guy had a three inch, non-retractable blade concealed within one of his converse sneakers. Turns out the cops pulled it off of him when they took him into custody.

Well how the bloody _hell_ was I supposed to know?! It's not like I'm psychic or something! I don't just turn around when someone has me pinned and ask: 'Hey, BTW, you don't like have a like a knife or something like on ya?' Like I had time to ask!

I guess, when it all comes down to it, the thing that bothered me the most was the fact that I was more of a liability than any _real_ help. Yeah I ended up taking the perk down with a swift kick to the balls, but really? I could have gotten myself killed or worse . . my sister or some innocent bystander. I took a dangerous risk going toe to toe with the guy. Luckily for me (_and everybody else_), my Katie Luck didn't get someone killed. Whoopee.

Mom and dad took the whole thing pretty well, or at least, dad did. Mom on the other hand? She flipped her lid. No real surprises there though, she freaks out when one of us (_or in many cases, the both of us_) does something reckless like this. Okay, not quite like this, but you get the picture right? Like the time we spent months playing at a construction site that was building condos when we were eight and eleven or the time went over to a friend's house three doors down without telling mom and she ended up calling the cops cause we wouldn't answer her calls.

And _then_ there was the time we discovered a creek with a waterfall about ten feet high in the back of the neighborhood when we were thirteen and sixteen, decided it was a great idea to climb down it (_we followed the creek downstream and it led us straight to the falls_) and I ended up slipping on a patch of moss, fell all the way to the bottom, and landed in a pool of water about three feet deep. I came home with a bruised tailbone and some broken pride cause Amy wouldn't stop laughing about it.

We have quite a long, deeply marked in red ink, record of all kinds of trouble we find ourselves in. Sometimes we go looking for it, other times it finds us. Though, at least we have enough sense not to do anything illegal. We have never crossed that line and I for one know _I_ never will. Amy? You can't be too sure about her. One never really knows what goes through that head of hers.

The thing one must keep in mind about my darling little sister is that she's the Evil Super Genius of our quaint little family. Most commonly known for her evil grins and her habit to spout mad-scientist laughter throughout the household. Evil? Yes I would most defiantly have to agree with that statement. Genius? Yes because, unlike myself, she can take apart anything electronic, rebuild it, and have it working better than it did before. Super? Not so much in my book unless we're talking about family. She already has a big head, no need to make it bigger.

Her official title (_or so she says_) is Amy E.S.G (_Evil Super Genius_) Shen (_Egyptian for Eternal but this is not her real middle name_) Spears (_her real last name_) Supreme Master of the Universe and All Things Awesome. If that doesn't scream "egotistical" then I don't know what will. She is a bit full of herself at times. Gosh what am I saying? She's always full of herself! Thinks she's the best thing since sliced bread and on top of that, she's full of sarcasm. Wait, let me rephrase that, she's the Master of Sarcasm. She even has this sticker on the back of her phone that reads: "My soul was removed to make room for all this sarcasm." Ha ha, I tend to agree with that.

Anyway, back to the subject of mom freaking out, she went on a rampage lecturing me on how foolish it was for me to engage someone who had a weapon (_how many times do I have to tell people; I didn't KNOW!_) and that I should have assumed the guy was armed (_a statement that contradicts her key phrase: Never assume anything! You're always wrong when you do_). She spent the first day since the incident lecturing me on the way I handled the situation and how I could have gotten someone hurt or worse . . _killed_.

Needless to say I've tried to spend most of my time _out _of the house and away from my mother as much as possible. I don't need her lectures on top of the mall cop's in order to get the message. I already feel bad enough without her adding to my guilt levels. So here I was, on the beach, hiding under a dock, off base, away from my family, and apparently . . . moping. I call it recollecting or reflecting, but I suppose that moping fits too.

I sighed for what had to be the millionth time that day, wondering why the hell every time I got involved in something I only ended up making the situation worse. I pulled my knees to my chest, rested my chin on my knees, and wrapped my arms around myself. I was useless, a burden, that one person in every cartoon, movie, anime . . whatever . . that only held the main character (or team) back or was that annoying idiot that always touched whatever strange object that you know you should never, ever touch under _any_ circumstances.

And by golly, didn't I feel like the world's greatest fool! Maybe I'm over thinking this though? I sighed again. My head hurts.

"H-hey, are y-you o-okay?"

I jolted from my spot in the sand, sending it scattering in all different directions. This was a sight I did not expect. Not ever! I blinked and then blinked again. Was I really seeing this? The man (_Was he a man? He still had many of his boyish features from his teen years that it was hard to tell_) that stood before me was drop dead beautiful. Okay maybe that was poor word choice. I could think of no words in any human language that could be used to describe the male being before me and for a moment, I was sure I was seeing things.

The young man was quite a sight. He was tall (_though everyone is tall to me_), but not extremely so; roughly about five foot seven or eight. He was slender in build, though not quite skinny because even under the black and yellow shirt one could make out the tight, hard muscles of his chest and abdomen. The shirt itself was interesting because it was long-sleeved, though, such a sight was not unheard of on the beach. Some people don't take to the sun too well.

The main body of the shirt was a subtle yellow, not so bright that it hurt to look at, but not a burnt color either; it was a quite pleasant hue. On the left side of the shirt, right over his heart, was a strange symbol. It was a red robotic face, outlined in a black border. Must be some new brand that just came out or something. I don't pay attention to fashion. The sleeves of the shirt came down to his wrists, were comfortably loose, and they were black. Not a color one would wear to the beach seeing as black absorbs heat so well; one would over heat. He wore a pair of black jeans that seemed to hug his hips with ease and on his feet a pair of yellow converse with black laces.

His hair was another unique factor because it was a light blonde, spiked up with some kind of gel that loosely held it in place, and that the very tips of his hair was black! Very unique indeed.

He had the cutest face I had ever seen, it was still very young and clearly untouched by age. He must have been at most twenty, but no older. His stance was that of concern, but still tensed with the alertness of danger, as though he was expecting some ambush or so. In accordance to his stance, his eyes shifted back and forth; investigating the space under the dock and on the lookout for what may have been distressing the girl in front of him. There was no doubt, by the way he was behaving, he was military. I should know, I've spent my whole nineteen years around soldiers and military protocol.

And that's when I really saw them; his eyes. They were a brilliant blue, not a trace of green or gray within the bright orbs. The purest, most raw form of blue I had ever seen; as though as they were other worldly. It frightened me a little, because I never seen or known anyone's eyes to be _just_ blue. Everyone's eyes contained more than just one color, sometimes it was a mixture of hues. For instance, my own eyes were a light, sky blue, but with an indigo ring surrounding the iris. They were two _different _shades of blue, but this young man . . his eyes were_ just_ blue.

Then, he set those eyes upon my own and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I felt a cringe of dread coil in my stomach and that small, little voice in the back of my mind screamed for my to bolt at that moment. However, I found that my body would not respond to my mind's pleas. I was frozen on the spot, leaning back on my hands which were thrown behind me, my eyes wide in some emotion I couldn't tell you, and my legs folded off to my right. I must have looked like some frightened animal debating whether to fight or flee. How long the two of us stared at each other I was uncertain, but it seemed that after a moment or two, he realized that it was his sudden appearance that caused me to react the way I did.

"I-it's al-alright!" His voice came out broken and hoarse as he slowly raised his palms, face up, in a gesture of peace. "I-I'm sor-"

His voice suddenly cut off and he erupted into a terrible coughing fit. He leaned forward, trying to regain composer and struggled with his ability to speak. Panic flooded me as he fell to his knees and bent over in the sand, wheezing and clearly fighting a losing battle to breathe. Without a thought, I immediately threw out the notion that he had meant me any harm and rushed to his side; sending sand everywhere when I fell to my knees beside him.

"It's alright! Don't panic!" I reached over, gripped his left shoulder, and with my right I rubbed circles into his back in the effort to help him breathe.

After a moment or two, he recovered from his coughing fit and raised his head; a light smile on his face. Though, the fit seemed to have worn him out a bit.

"Than-than-" He struggled to speak once more and in his effort, I realized the issue.

_ 'He . . he can't speak! His vocal cords are damaged! How . . ?'_

I stopped in mid-thought. He was clearly military, I recognized his stance of caution and the way he glanced in every direction from before. So, he must have seen battle at one point and more than likely his vocal cords were damaged in some skirmish with an enemy. I frowned, repairing vocal cords was not really within our medical power; one just had to adapt to the fact that one couldn't speak. Trying to would only cause further damage to the cords and possibly snap them. More than likely, the young man would never be able to speak normally ever again and that was a shame seeing as how young he was. The damage was permanent.

I frowned slightly, an apologetic look on my face. "It . . it's probably best if you don't try to talk. You'll only make it worse."

A flash of irritation and sorrow crossed his face; it was an answer he apparently had been told before. Clearly, he was still struggling with this known fact. He shook his head sharply, as if defying my words and the words of what ever a physician that treated him. He glared at the sand in front of him as he took a seat beside me, crossing his legs Indian-style. I suddenly felt the discomfort from before returning. Thinking quickly for some way to aid him in his moment of distress, I looked back to my original spot and spotted my bag.

_'Lightbulb!' _

I scrambled to my feet and raced over to it; snatching it up by one of its green straps and then racing back to the boy. He quirked an eyebrow at me, puzzled by my efforts. I opened the bag and began rooting around for my small notebook I kept for notes and story ideas. Once I found it, I tossed it in his direction (_this action surprised him and he almost missed the booklet of paper entirely_) and began searching for a suitable pen for him to use. This proved to be more challenging because more than half my pens were dried out or out of ink.

"Sorry, give me a minute. I'm sure there's one in here that you can use."

If I looked up at that moment instead of sticking my head back into the bag I would have seen a very startled expression on the young man's face. He must have been very confused by this girl and her strange way of trying to help him.

"Ah ha!" I exclaimed in victory, reappearing from the depths of the bag holding up a black ballpoint that was still full of ink. "Here."

I handed him the writing instrument and then took my seat beside him. "Now then, let's start this off properly shall we? I'm Katie."

I extended my hand in friendship and offered him a friendly smile. He smiled in return, encased my hand in his own, and gave it a firm squeeze. After holding the gesture for a moment or two, he released my hand, picked up my notebook and pen, and scribbled something on a blank page. I craned my head over his arm so I could see what he was writing, but unfortunately he took notice of the action and pulled the book away from my line of sight. A playful smirk crossed his face and he raised a finger at me, wagging it back and forth in an "ah, ah, ah" motion.

I couldn't help but laugh at his playfulness, but once the cackle of laughter escaped my mouth I immediately pressed my lips together and looked away. I blushed at my not-so-feminine-sounding laugh and wished for not the first in my life that I had a prettier sounding voice.

"Sorry." I offered sheepishly, turning my attention to the early afternoon sky as if it was the most fascinating thing I'd every seen.

I suddenly felt a light pressure on my right shoulder, a pressure that seemed to compel me to look back to the person beside me; a pressure that wished for my attention. For what ever reason, I followed the pressures urging and looked back at the young man. His face held an expression of understanding, as if he grasped the fact that I too was unhappy with a personal quality. I saw so much in that face, his expression spoke volumes and a sense of understanding passed between us. Communicating through more than just words or sentences, as if we'd been friends forever.

"You know," How I was even able to find my voice at that moment I don't know. "I never did get your name."

At this, he threw his head back in a silent bout of laughter; apparently he thought my statement warranted a giggle or two. Seeing as he wasn't bothered by my unique laugh, I let out a snort and doubled over in a fit of stitches. Unfortunately, every time I thought I was finished, a new wave of giggles would wash over me and both the young man and I erupted into laughter all over again. After several failed attempts, we finally were able to regain some descent composer and calm our systems.

The young man, still giggling silently, reached over to his left and picked up my notebook which he had tossed aside during our giggle fest. After wiping his eyes for any tears that remained, he handed me the small booklet. Sprawled across the page in delicate handwriting was written the words: 'My name is Ben Bee; pleased to meet you. I saw you looking down in the dumps. Are you okay?'

Taken aback by his surprised interest in my well-being, I looked up and offered a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. Just . ."

I broke off and returned my attention back to the sea. A seagull flew overhead, crying out to the wind and letting the air currents guide him on whatever journey lay before him. I wished I could fly, fly far away to a place where I wasn't strange to other people and where I would others like me. People who thought outside the box, who didn't have a problem with someone who spent her free time writing stories and reading manga or just enjoying being among friends. Someone who cared about the journey, rather than the destination and would rather sit and watch the stars while pondering about the unknowns in the universe.

_Tap_

I looked down to see what had collided with my knee only to find my notebook balancing precariously on top of it. I glanced up to see Ben frowning sadly at me. Well, wasn't I the pentacle of company today?

"Sorry." I offered, not sure how to regain control of the conversation. "Guess I'm not the best company you could be around with today."

Ben suddenly shook his head rapidly, as if disagreeing with my statement, and then grabbed my book off my knee and began writing furiously. After several minutes of him scribbling and me watching his movements, he finally shoved the notebook back into my hands enthusiastically. He had written a great deal this time.

'You're great company! You're not as bad as some of the other company I keep. One of them is a trigger-happy weapon fanatic who's always shoving his guns in everybody's faces and bragging about his marksmanship. He's a bit rough around the edges but all in all he's not a bad person; you just need to get to know him first. Our medic is another one of them cause he's always grumpy and short tempered. He doesn't know how to take a joke, but that's not really his fault since he's always on the receiving end of pranks more than half the time.'

I stopped reading once I saw the word medic, my suspicions of Ben being military now confirmed. "So you _are_ military, I thought so."

At this, Ben's eyes widened, his eyebrows shot up in surprise, and he looked a bit wary of me all of a sudden. Realizing he might take my comment as an insult, I tried to find a way to explain myself clearer.

"No, no, no!" I waved my hands back and forth, trying to dissuade him from thinking I meant any ill will. "I think it's great really! I could tell you had military training by the way you held yourself and the way you looked around! You see, my dad's an officer in the Air Force! Major Leo Spears of the 81st Training Wing; he's a medic too and works the ER on base."

I spoke so fast that all my words seemed to run together and by the time I finished I feared he hadn't caught any of it. Great! I let myself get all nervous and now he probably can't tell which way is up!

"I didn't mean that it was a bad thing! Honest!" I bit my lip and decided to wait out his response.

He tilted his head at me, as if trying to look at me from a different angle. Then he held his hand open, requesting for the notebook again. I sheepishly held it out for him and turned away so I could give him the privacy to write down his response. Though all the while I was mentally Gibbs-ing myself for rambling and unintentionally insulting the guy.

_'Why Lord?! Why does everything that comes out of my mouth end up being an insult?!'_

After what felt like several painful and torturous minutes, Ben finished writing his response. He handed me the book, a quirk of a smile on his lips. I immediately felt weary of what he may have wrote, but surprisingly, they were mostly questions; several questions in fact. There were a few comments that went with the though.

'Your father is in the military?'

I decided that it would be easier to answer his questions one at a time before going through them all first. "Yeah, he's a Major in the Air Force. He's a doctor or medic as the military calls them; he saves lives, not takes them."

I sighed, just because he could save lives doesn't mean he's not capable of taking them too. He did have a military issued glock and two pistols that were kept in a small weapons case in the master bedroom, but he never had them on his person when he was home. He locked them up when he came home from training and there they stayed until next months excersize. He rarely even took one of them with him when he went off base, but he did take the glock with him if the whole family was going somewhere. His reasoning is that he "Has to protect my beautiful girls. Can't let no perk get a hold of 'em." I love my father, even if he is a bit overprotective. I returned my attention to the comment that was below Ben's first question.

'One of my superiors is a Colonel and we have a really excellent medical officer.'

I had to say, I was getting more and more interested in this guy. I never seen him before, but Keesler is a fairly large base; there are hundreds of soldiers I haven't met. "You Air Force? Cause I haven't seen you before, not even at the yearly Air Show we have."

Ben stiffened at my rather blunt question and shifted his eyes nervously. Crap! I did it again! Thinking fast, I tried to remember what my dad told me about situations like this. I knew that one couldn't always tell where they where stationed or where they were being sent. It was secure information that couldn't be reveled for fear the enemy would find out. Ben didn't really know me, so telling me was really out of the question and could be national security.

"Sorry!" I squeaked nervously, afraid I made him uncomfortable. "I shouldn't have asked that. I understand if you can't tell me; it's probably not the best idea to spout that info around for fear the enemy might find out. We weren't allowed to know dad was being sent to Kuwait sixteen years ago because it was secured information. We spent nine months waiting for him to come back, wondering if he was alright."

I felt Ben place a hand on my shoulder and give it a comforting squeeze. He smiled sadly at me, which told me that he couldn't tell me and that he understood the pain of waiting for loved ones and friends to return from missions and battles. I smiled back.

"You know," I laughed, feeling better knowing he wasn't angry with me.

For some reason, I really wanted a good friendship with this guy. Everything about him screamed "Best Friend!" and that he had a good heart. It came to me as no surprise that most of my dad's friends became my own; the military is very tight. You fight together, eat together, shower together (_no joke_), and cry together. You become a very tight, unbreakable family and that stays with you forever.

"For someone who can't speak, you sure are talkative."

He laughed and then I laughed too.

**That's the end of this chapter but not to worry, the next one will be a continuation of this one. So more Bumblebee! Hurray! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this and keep an eye out for Chapter Five! Don't forget to leave a comment or pm me! Thank you to all my reviewers and readers! You're the best!**


	6. Talking To Me Can Get You Into Trouble

**Hello again! I bring you Chapter Five of this story of mine. Kinda a little sad that this fic isn't getting that much attention, but it takes a while I guess. This is a continuation of Chapter Four so there's more Bee in here. You'll soon understand why he's in Biloxi, Ms though. He's not alone so you might get a glimpse of another Autobot or two. The action of this story doesn't really pick up until next chapter so be a little patient okay? Thanks and here's Chapter Five.**

**Chapter Five**

**Why Talking to Me can Get You Into Trouble**

After exchanging a few more questions and answers, we decided that we would get up and walk. Well, that was more or less my suggestion; I didn't think that we should be hiding under the dock cause that seemed a bit shady. By now it was reaching late mid afternoon (_leaning towards three_) and I wanted some sun. Ben didn't seemed bothered by the suggestion and so the two of us ended up walking along the shore (_I ended up taking off my gray converse and shoved them into my bag so I could wade in the shallows_). We enjoyed just walking and listening to the sounds of the ocean and of the people coming and going, but after a bout of silence Ben decided that he wanted to talk again.

He stopped, sheepishly pointed to my bag that was slung over my back, then held out his palm and made a writing motion on it. Understanding that he was asking for the notebook and pen back so he could speak to me, I took off the bag and rooted around for the objects. After finding them and handing them back to him, he began writing. I waited calmly for him to finish and directed my attention back to the water.

Then I noticed something peeking out of the sand a little ways off to my left; curious, I went over to investigate the object. To my surprise, the object of my fascination was indeed, a shell. Not just any shell either; it was a conch shell! At least, part of one because it was mostly buried in the wet sand; the waves crashing over it. I crouched down and sank my fingers deep into the sand in the attempts to dig the seashell out. I heard a noise of surprise from behind me and guessed that Ben found that I wasn't beside him anymore. If I had paid a bit more attention to my surroundings, I would have noticed that he came up behind me. But this is me were talking about, when I'm deep into something I tend to be less observant.

"W-what i-is th-that?"

Startled out of my quest to uncover the conch, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Ben! Oh!" I sighed in relief when I saw it was just him and placed a hand over my heart to calm myself. "Sorry, I didn't notice you. This? This is called a conch shell; they're very rare to find on a beach."

As he took a seat beside me, I finished digging it out, brushed it off a bit, and held the giant shell out for him to see. He looked at it surprise and fascination, as if he'd never seen a shell like it before. He cautiously took it in his hands, turning it over slowly as he inspected it.

"A-are they r-rare?" He asked hoarsely, his voice cracking in several places.

I frowned at the sound, this was not good. The notebook and pen were helpful if he was not engaged in something, but if he had his hands full or if he didn't have paper or a pen on him communicating with others was a challenge. I needed to find a way to help him that wouldn't hinder him so much. Hmm. What to do? What to do?

"They're hard to find." I shrugged my shoulders and offered him the shell. "Want to hold it?"

He nodded rapidly and held out his hands for the large, spiky object. I watched as he inspected every inch of it, turning it just so or running a hand over the ridges and spikes. He seemed, all in all, pretty engrossed in its structure and texture. This led me to believe that he'd never seen one before, let alone touched one. This gave me an idea.

"Hold it up to your ear for a sec." I gestured for him to do so, though, he looked slightly confused by the request. "You can hear the ocean."

Again, he looked puzzled. He pointed a tan finger out towards the water and then to his ear; indicating that he already _could_ hear the ocean. I sighed; has he ever done this before? I guess not. I held my hands out for the shell, silently asking for it back. Still confused by the purpose of my request, he handed it to me; his face full of puzzlement.

"Like this Ben." I held the conch up to my ear (_the opening of the shell practically swallowed it_) and listened.

Blocking out the sounds of childish laughter, rock music, and the waves crashing against the sand; I listened for the familiar sound that all shells emanated. The voice of the ocean itself. It whispered softly in my ear, almost caressing it with words that I couldn't fully understand or comprehend. A voice that had an other worldly air about it, as if no human could ever hope to fully understand it, and yet comforting. As if telling me that all I feared and all that I doubted didn't matter; didn't exist. It made me feel hope and it made me feel like I belonged.

After a moment or two relishing in the ocean's voice, I held the conch out for Ben to try. "It's okay, really. It doesn't hurt or anything; just listen."

Hesitantly and still full of puzzlement, he took the shell back and slowly raised it to his left ear. After a moment or two, his expression turned from confusion to realization, then to astonishment and excitement. His eyes brightened and flew open as wide as they could, a large and excited smile spreading across his handsome face. It was a look of pure delight, like a little kid opening presents on Christmas morning. He pointed eagerly to the conch then to his right ear, indicating that he could hear the sound of the ocean from within the extraordinary shell.

I smiled at him, pleased that I was able to share with him a new experience of wonder and fascination. Then, something about him hit me: he was good at communicating and signaling with his hands. Sign Language, of course! That's how I could help him: teach him Sign Language! Perfect! I went over the alphabet in my head; recalling all the things I knew how to sign and those that I was most familiar with, hoping that maybe this new tactic would prove to be useful to Ben. Now, the only thing left was to put it into action and pray that he wouldn't abject to the idea.

Nervous about presenting the sudden spark of inspiration, I tried to pull as much confidence into my words as possible. "Hey, would . . would it be alright if I . . ."

I trailed off as said confidence left me and I ducked my head in both embarrassment and anger.

_'Great Katie, you're really helping your case! Just ask him! He's been nice so far, so no big deal! It's not like he's gonna bite your head off or something. Just say it!'_

I felt a hand suddenly pat the top of my head in a small comforting manner, gently trying to get me to look at the strange, yet sweet person beside me. Inside, I was having a strange battle with myself: To look or not to look. That was the question indeed. I never experienced this before, having a male show some kind of interest or at least, a male I never known before. I was never popular with guys; most of them thought I was weird or I just didn't live up to their expectations. I'm not what they want, plain and simple. I'm short (_below the average short_), I have a boyish looking face, my face is oval shaped, I keep my hair super short (_it makes it easier to care for and it keeps it out of my way_), my torso makes up most of my height on the account I have short legs, and I'm built stockier than most girls (_I'm not fat, just got bigger bones than some girls_). My rib cage is wider, my legs are fairly large (_that maybe due to all the cycling I do in my spare time, or sparer time I should say_), and I look more like a twelve year old than nineteen.

Yep, I'm the next super model all right. Well, it wasn't really my appearance that botherd me, it's the fact that guys are so focused on the things that don't matter. They rather have a girl that looks good in bed than a girl who would treat them with respect and be honest with them. They don't give a damn about what really matters and _that's_ what gets me ticked. I'm not good enough because I don't look the part. I don't look great in bikini's, I hate skinny jeans, I don't wear mini skirts, and I refuse to wear heels. It's not gonna happen.

I'm not used to this, not used to some random guy coming up to me and being concerned about my well-being. It just doesn't happen; it never happened after the first three months with my ex. At first he cared, at first he made me feel special; like I was wanted. Desired maybe, but then . . . poof. Knight in Shining Armor turned . . I don't know. He ignored me and most confusing, he never kissed me! Okay, once! But it was just a peck on the cheek! After that, I was the one kissing him, but he never reacted. He just stood there and . . left me hanging! He never reacted, he never kissed me, and he would only give me one armed hugs. It went on for six months before he ended it and the way he went about it was . . . harsh.

Maybe there was something wrong with me? Maybe I wasn't being nice enough? Was I not paying him enough attention? I thought I was; I thought I was giving him plenty of attention. I was there for him when he was having family issues and I never let him feel that I didn't love him! I don't know what when wrong, but it did and in the end, it was he who was the one to end it. After that, I vowed that I would never try again. The truth? I'm terrified. I scared out of my mind of trying because I'm tired of being hurt. Because I'm afraid of having some guy tell me I'm not good enough. I guess you could call me a coward; maybe I am. But, my heart's safe as long as I keep my distance.

"W-why a-are you a-afraid?"

My head snapped up at his words, shocked that he could read me so well; especially since he only met me about an hour or so ago. How was he able to do that? Know what exactly was going through my mind? It's almost like a Twilight moment, except I don't think he's a vampire since he's out in the sun and not a pile of ash or glittering like some rhinestone. Besides, Twilight is stupid; I don't believe that vampires glitter! Bella was a stupid idiot of a girl who didn't know what she really had in front of her.

I stared at him for a moment or two trying to pull a decent sentence together without sounding like a total idiot. "I . . wh-what do you mean?"

_'Oh yeah Kate that was real smooth!You're acting like a total ditz!'_

Ben on the other hand was not buying my ignorant facade for a second. He gave me a pointed look that told me I better fess up or else and I, for one, did not want to find out what that 'or else' would led to. It probably wasn't good for me.

"Who said I was?" I asked defensively, not willing to let him past the walls of sanctuary that protected my mind. That was off limits to everyone; I would not let anyone into the depths of my inner zen. The one place that no one could touch; my safe place. The place were I could be me without judgment and no one, not even this seemingly nice young man, was going to penetrate it.

His expression softened, the sternness melted, and he gave a deep sigh. His shoulders slumped slightly and he looked quite offended that I wasn't being fully honest with him. Well, that did the trick; my guilt levels almost shot through the roof. I felt my heart give a painful squeeze at his forlorn face and wished that I had just answered the question rather than putting up another wall between us. I wished Amy was here so she could Gibbs' me for being overly defensive.

I closed my eyes and gathered myself. "Look," I began, slowly letting my walls come down. "I don't really want to talk about it okay? It's not because I don't trust you, because oddly enough I _do_. I just don't . . open up with personal stuff easily. So, can we just let bygones be bygones?"

The young blonde seemed to accept this and nodded in approval at my decision. He suddenly broke out into a cheeky grin and leaned over to ruffle my hair.

"Hey!" I protested lightly, not really bothered by the action but a little taken aback by it. "Watch the hair!"

I tried to smooth out my curls, however due to their wildly nature they went back to sticking up in all directions. I faked a huff and crossed my arms, pretending to be irritated by his actions. Ben took one look at my expression and doubled over in silent laughter; clutching his stomach with both hands and shaking so hard he looked like he was having a seizure. I blinked. Was I really that funny? I inwardly shrugged; I tend to have that effect on people.

Still snickering, he put the conch off to the side so he could reach behind him and pick up my notebook that he tossed aside. Opening it up to a new page, he hunkered down and began writing with new enthusiasm. Leaving him to do what he will, I took the liberty of glancing at my watch; four-thirty. I sighed inwardly. Was I away long enough? Did the tensions at home whine down? Was it safe to go home yet? I wasn't sure; my mother was capable of ranting for hours. She was probably still ranting under her breath at this very moment doing the laundry or something.

I shook my head; I was probably overreacting. Mom would apologize to me the moment I walked through the door, saying that she was just concerned about my safety and that she didn't mean to drive me away. Then I would apologize for being stubborn and running away from her. Then we will hug, make up, and then find something else to argue over. Yep, that was me and mom; but I love her anyway.

_Tap, Tap_

Once again my attention was brought back to a familiar tapping against my knee and true to form, there was my notebook balancing upon the joint. I picked it up and read the words written across the page.

'You remind me of a friend of mine; he's very touchy about his looks. Always concerned with getting dirty or messing up his appearance. His brother is even worse.'

I frowned. I was just joking about my hair; I wasn't serious. I didn't care about my appearance because I'm always focusing on being me. I don't even wear make-up, but that's because it's too much of a hassle to put on and then take off. Plus it clogs my pores and makes my face feel like its covered in vegetable oil. I don't bother with the stuff as I'm all about a persons natural beauty, though that's not the popular outlook.

"I was just joking about the hair Ben; I wasn't serious." I told him, trying to make him understand that I wasn't that kind of girl. "I don't wear make-up or anything; I don't really care about that sort of thing. I don't need some powder or eye liner to make me pretty. Besides, its like lying to other people you know? Hiding yourself behind a mask. I don't like people who feel the have to cover themselves up in order to be accepted. It's what's on the inside that counts, as cliché as that sounds."

Once again I wasn't paying attention to what came out of my mouth, because if I had I would have seen Ben's face fall and his complexion pale considerably. He shifted uncomfortably beside me and by the time I noticed, he was avoiding my eyes and playing with his fingers nervously. I cringed; _damn it_ I did it again! Without warning, I jumped to my feet and began to gather my things; my guilt levels soaring again.

_'Why? Why couldn't I keep my fat mouth shut? Why didn't I think before I opened my mouth? Dad always did say it was going to get me into trouble one of these days and now I made this poor guy uncomfortable. I shouldn't have even tried. I should have just walked away the moment I saw him. I'm such a damn idiot!'_

As I turned to walk away, I felt a hand grab my forearm. I glanced up and what I saw stopped me in mid-step. The serious expression on Ben's face did not belong there, in fact, it almost made me want to rip my arm out of his grasp. But I was frozen under the gaze of his raw blue eyes; their gaze alone would have pinned me on the spot even if his hand did not. I felt many things running through those eyes of his: fear, confusion, and an emotion that I couldn't describe. Concern maybe? I don't know.

"L-let me go." My voice shook, fear filled me.

I didn't know what to do, what to say. Why? Why did he care? Why now? For the first time in my life, I was faced with a scenario no one, not even my father, could have prepared me for: Someone I never met, a complete stranger (_a male no less_) caring about little o'me. Actually caring about my feelings, my thoughts, and me as a human being.

The one person that guys oversee, only to be drawn to my more feminine looking friend or my sister. For once, someone was looking at _me_. Not in a romantic sense, but just because I was human. Because I could hurt, because I could feel, and Ben . . . he _saw_ me. Saw me for who I was: a person.

"No." This time, his voice came out clear and untouched by whatever affliction ailed his vocals. It was a definite sound; like he made a decision that left no room for arguing. Finale.

"Why?" The one question that was burning at the back of my throat, the back of my mind, spilled out before I could throw it back and swallow it.

I inwardly flinched, not sure if I wanted to hear the answer to the question. Why was I afraid? He wouldn't hurt me, couldn't hurt me. A small part of me (_not quite sure which_) knew this fact. My instincts if I had to guess. Was I afraid of the answer? Absolutely. But was I afraid of him? No. Just . . just that I was vulnerable; that I was sitting open like a book for all to see. A bug under a microscope. I was afraid because he _could_ see. See me for who I was: alone, hurt, and afraid of disappointment. Afraid of letting my parents down in school, afraid of not being the best big sister that wanted to be, afraid of not being wanted by another, afraid that my existence meant nothing to those around me.

Afraid of being overlooked, out of sight, out of mind. Afraid of being nothing.

I waited. Waited to hear the worst. Waited for the shoe to drop, for him to back out and run away from me. But it never came; he just stood there looking at me. As if that was enough, as if him standing there not running away, was the answer. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

"Because you need a friend." Again, his voice came out smooth and clear.

It was said with such firmness and yet with such gentleness that for a moment I was sure my brain had made it all up. I blinked. The blinked again. A friend? Friend. I had so few, so few I could trust. Only four to be exact and now . . now I had five.

"Thank you." It was all I could say, all that my brain could process.

I said it almost like a sob. Like a heavy weight was lifted off of me and I, for the first time in a while, could breathe easy. Ben offered me a gentle smile, a kind one, and then he did something I didn't expect: he hugged me. And it was a feeling that I would never forget.

_Four O'clock in the afternoon_

"You know, I think I may have found an answer to your problem."

After my small (_that was small?_) emotional breakdown, we started to make our way back up the beach to where all the cars were parked. The blonde insisted that he walk me to my car (_I didn't really have the heart to tell him why my car was still parked in my parents driveway on base_) and make sure I made it safely home (_whether or not it was for my sanity or his I'll probably never know_). Ben turned to me in surprise, his face turned up in a grin, his blues seemed to dance with excitement, and before I knew it, he picked me up from under my arms and swung me around. All the while grinning like I just told him he won the forty-five million dollar jackpot.

I squeezed in surprise and threw my arms around his neck so that I would have something to stabilize myself. Well, I wasn't expecting _that_ reaction. After he spun me around for a few more turns he eventually set me down, but then grabbed my hand and started pulling me up the stones steps that led up to the street. He paused for a moment to look down one end of the curb and then down the other. Suddenly sheepish, he turned back to me and rubbed the back of his head with one of his hands.

Basically it translated as: 'I don't know what your car looks like. Sorry.'

I couldn't help but laugh, "It's not here actually. I left it at home, so don't worry about it."

At that piece of news he frowned. Oookay, so he was going to worry about it anyway.

"I don't live far. Keesler's gates are about three miles in that direction." I pointed in the direction of north. "I walk to the beach and back a lot. It's good for your health."

Ben, who had somehow gotten a hold of my notebook again, began to scribble something on a new page. I sighed, it was probably going to end up being a lecture or something. My goodness the guy worried a lot. Though with it being me maybe that was a good thing. I always get into the worst possible scrapes. My face was suddenly brought to the attention that my notebook was almost shoved up my nose. Taking the booklet in my hands I scanned the page.

'You shouldn't go somewhere to far from home with no car. Never know when you need a fast getaway. So what about an answer? An answer to what?'

I decided that I would ignore the sentences about the car and move on to explaining my idea of teaching him Sign Language. I wasn't completely fluent, but I knew enough to hold a decent conversation. Teaching him the basics wasn't going to be too hard, or at least, I hope he's a fast learner.

"Sign Language. It's a language made up of forming signs with your hands. It's used by the deaf because they can't hear spoken words, but they can see. I used it whenever I lose my voice or it's too sore to try to talk."

Intrigued by the sound of this "Sign Language", Ben held up one finger to me telling me to 'hold that thought' and began to look around for what I guessed was his car. He must have spotted it because the next thing I knew he took my hand and led me down towards the west end of the curb. After walking past several SUVs, Volkswagens, and a Caddie or two, we came to a stop in front of one of the sleekest vehicles on the street. The car (it seemed to be sooo much more) in front of me was a 2011, yellow Chevy Camero complete with black racing stripes.

In short, it was beautiful.

"This . ." I trailed off for a moment and tried to focus my brain on saying something with some intelligence. "This is your _car_?!"

_'Nice Kate, real intelligent. You really have him going now.'_

Ben just smiled proudly at me, his face even a little smug. Boys and their toys; I should have known. In truth though, it was a pretty sleek ride.

"If it floats your boat, all power to you." I gave a one shoulder shrug. "My pride and joy is a 2005 Volkswagen convertible Beetle. It's dark purple, my favorite color."

Was it just me or was that a knowing smirk spreading across his face? I quirked an eyebrow at him, "Care to share with the rest of the class Mr. Bee?"

Again he chuckled at me, shaking his head as he did so. He whipped out my notebook again and off went the pen. When he finished, he held it out for me to read.

'I used to own a Volkswagen Beetle. It was one of the earlier models with the engine in the trunk. Yellow of course; I just can't part with the color.'

I couldn't help but laugh.

_'Well, at least he's dedicated to something that's worthwhile.'_

"Well at least you find joy in something. Many people these days don't know when to take the time to do something they like or sit down and just rest for a while. They're always rushing about like a stirred up ant hill." As I said this I curled my right hand into a fist and brought it down lightly on my left palm in the effort to demonstrate my point.

"You can't be serious all the time. You end up missing the things that are most important that way, like friends and family." I shook my head. "But I'm getting off track again. I was supposed to teach you Sign Language wasn't I?"

Ben nodded eagerly, leaning against the Camero, and waiting for the first step. I couldn't help but be excited by his own excitement. I only hope I could do the language justice.

"Well alrighty then. The first thing I want you to do is roll up those sleeves of yours. You can't make signs if they're covering your hands." I advised, waging my finger playfully at him.

Following my advice, the blonde rolled up his long black sleeves up to his elbows. Then, once sure they would not fall down his arms, he returned his attention back to me and awaited whatever lesson I had planned. I looked around me, looking for a good spot to sit and relax while I gave Ben the basics. A little ways off the sidewalk (_which sat higher than the beach_) was a patch of grass that sported an wrought iron bench comfortable enough for two. That looked to be a good place to get nice and comfy. On the plus side, it had a good view of the ocean without the crowd of people.

I got so caught up in the idea that I didn't tell Ben what I was planning and so I jumped off the sidewalk and let gravity take control. I rolled down the grassy hill sideways, laughing as I went and I'm quite sure the poor blonde didn't know what to make of me at that moment. One second I'm rolling down the hill happy as can be and the next I felt a pair of strong arms pick me up out of nowhere. The next thing I know, two very blue eyes are inches away from my own starring at me as if he should be concerned for my sanity. It was then I realized Ben had jumped after me and intercepted my hill rolling adventure.

"Um . . Care to put me down?" I ventured, unsure of why exactly he was holding me bridal style (_an experience I never had until now. It was quite . . . uncomfortable_). "I'm not hurt or anything you know. Well, I guess you could say I'm crazy but it's not something I like to advertise."

I leaned in closer so I could whisper. "People might start to believe it."

I giggled at the startled expression that floored his face, then laughed out loud when he just shook his head at me. "I'm just playing Ben. Gee, for someone as young as you're awfully serious."

At that he gave me a pointed look which then turned into a evil smirk. My felt my heart sink.

"Oh no. Don't you even think about it!" I warned, not liking the look on his face. "Whatever it is, don't you dare!"

My words came too late as the blonde suddenly tossed me over his shoulder and began hiking up the grassy hill. All the while I protested my arrangement with great ferociousness, pounding my tiny fists upon his back in the effort to make him drop me. Unfortunately, all that military training must have paid off cause he wasn't in the least bit fazed by my attack. Instead, I felt his shoulder start to shake and knew that all I had succeeded in doing was making the blonde laugh. Oh fooie.

"Ben! Let me down now!" I whined as we reached the top of the hill. "I'm not a child! I have two legs, let me use them for Pete's sake!"

As if my prayers were answered, he deposited me gently on the hood of the Camero which felt quite warm to my surprise. After all, it had been sitting there for hours, shouldn't it be cold? Maybe it was just the heat from the sun. Ben gave me a look that told me my stunt with the hill was not amusing. I guess he thought I was trying to hurt myself or something.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. "You're making a mountain out of a molehill, Ben. I roll down hills all the time. It's one of my favorite things to do and before you ask, children do it all the time. Haven't you ever rolled down a hill before?"

At the sudden question, he surprised me by shaking his head. Wait? So he never rolled down a hill before? Like, at all? What they heck was up with this guy?! He never heard of Sign Language, never rolled down a hill, and never knew to put a shell to his ear to hear the ocean?! Gosh, even if I never lived near a beach I would still know these things. Ben was strange indeed.

"Okay," I said, shaking my head at him and pointing a finger at his chest. "You my friend, are stranger than I am and I'm sorry but that's saying something."

He frowned at me and shifted uncomfortably from side to side, though this time I wasn't feeling guilty for opening my mouth. This guy was weird and I don't mean like nerd weird or Wicca weird or even military PT weird. No, I mean funky as hell weird. You know, that kind of weird that involves guys not knowing _not_ to walk into girls bathrooms or the I didn't know not to walk off cliffs weird. You know the basics of life weird! Like not knowing how to make a PB and J sandwich weird! Common knowledge stuff! This guy didn't know that rolling down hills and listening to shells was like the basics of having fun as a kid. Where the heck did he grow up?! The poor guy's been fun-deprived!

"Alright, you know what? Forget it." I hopped off the hood and picked up my purse. "It's none of my business that you were denied the basics of fun as a child, but you better pick up some normal habits or you're going to have people thinking you're an alien or something."

Now, let's pretend for a moment that I'm a normal person. If I had been paying attention to what came out of my mouth (_cause I obviously wasn't. No duh!_) I would have seen the look of pure horror cross Ben's face, but seeing as I turned around at the last minute; I did not. The young blonde turned inhumanly pale and looked around to see if anyone had heard my comment about being an alien. To the blonde's relief, no one had. Unfortunately for me, I didn't get even ten feet from the guy before I tripped over my own two feet. Katie's Luck strikes again!

"OH!" I cried out in frustration, picking myself back up and dusting the sand and dirt off my butt. "Today's just gone to hell in a handbasket! I have a fight with mom, I encounter a weird guy who has the strangest of habits or lack thereof, and now I'm covered in dirt! Why Lord?! What have I done to deserve this?!"

I shouted the last two sentences to the heaven's while holding out my hands in a begging motion. Today was just not my day. Screw it!

"I-I th-think it's y-you w-who is th-the stran-strange one."

I looked up and low and behold it's Ben standing over me, hand outstretched. I sighed, may as well take the lending hand. What's the saying? Don't bite the hand that feeds you? Wait, that doesn't make sense, I'm the one who feeds myself. I earn my own pay, I'm the one who rolls in the dough, I bring home the bacon for myself. So, the question is . . would I eat my own hand? Well, only if I was hungry enough or if it was a life or death situation. I don't think I taste that good overall. Oh that sounded soooo wrong!

"Fine." Needless to say, I took the hand. "Sorry about the stuff before, I wasn't thinking again. I tend to do that a lot so you may not want to pay too much attention to me. It may get you killed or something."

Ben shook his head at me as he pulled me to my feet and handed me my bag.

"So," I said as I finished dusting myself off. "How about that Sign Language?"

_About an hour later_

To say I was astounded would be an understatement; the guy took to Sign Language like a fish to water. He was a natural! Learning another language is difficult no matter what, but this guy . . it was as if the language was created just for him. In no time at all we were signing back and forth practicing the alphabet and some of the common signs that mom taught me.

For example, if you wanted to say "yes" all one would have to do was form a fist and move it in an up and down motion; like if you were nodding your head. "No" is taking your pointer finger and middle finger, putting them side by side and placing the thumb beneath them, and then open and close them like a crocodile. If you wanted to say "sorry", one would make a fist again, place it over your heart, and then make circular motions with the fist. "Hungry" is the same thing as "sorry" but over the stomach.

All in all, he was great! After practicing for a little longer, I looked at my phone and saw the time: six-thirty! I was gonna be late for dinner! After explaining to Ben about dinner and the fight between me and mom, he insisted on taking me home. Or at least, as close to home as he could get: Keesler's gates. The ride wasn't long, about fifteen minutes tops and besides me chatting my head off about random things, fairly quiet.

The strange thing was after talking for a few more minutes, as I walked through the gates I saw a 2011, red Lamborghini Murcielago, a black GMC Topkick, and a green and yellow Rescue Hummer H2 pull up beside Ben's Camero.

_'Friends of his maybe?'_

I ducked behind a clump of trees (_why I felt I had to do so was beyond me_) about four feet from the fence line and watched the scene unfold before me. Two men got out of the Topkick, one of which was every bit a hardcore war machine (_the guy was huge!_) and had black hair cut in a buzz style while the other was smaller in both size, build (_though not to say he wasn't fit_), and whose black hair was slightly longer. They both wore Army greens but with no blouse, only blacks shirts and a pair of dog tags around their necks. The man who got out of the Hummer looked to be more slimmer than the other two, as if fighting was not his main profession. He worse a collared blue shirt with long sleeves, a pair of black slacks, and glasses. He looked to be about in his mid-forties, about the same as my father.

The fourth man was something else entirely. He had to be about six feet, not a day over twenty-six, and looked like a sexy beast in all honesty! His hair was slicked back loosely with some kind of gel and it spiked up all over the place, but his bangs (_which he kept brushed off to his right_) were dyed a bright red! His musculature was well . . um tight. He looked like he worked out, but not so much he over did it. He wore black Levi's with bright red converse with black laces and he looked . . . agitated.

Then I saw something that really unnerved me. Five out of six of these guys (including Ben) had the same bright, raw blue eyes! The very same! Wait a minute, wasn't that genetically impossible? I didn't have too much time to think on it because the one in red started talking.

"Did you find him?!" He asked Ben frantically, stopping about a foot away from the blonde.

He shook his head at his friend, indicating that he had not found whoever Red was looking for.

"Slag!" Red cursed, his agitation clearly growing on his face. "What the frag have you been doing all joor?!"

"Watch yourself!" The big, burly one scowled gruffly as he and his partner joined Ben and Red. "What if someone heard you?!"

"The Pit if I care!" Red shot back, clearly ignoring the fact that the big one was at least three times his size as far as muscles went and that he looked in charge. "Bee! You're the scout, what have you been doing!"

Guilt flooded Ben's (_who was just called by his last name_) face and started kicking the ground with the toe of his shoe. "I-I was . . . dis-distracted."

By this time the one with glasses showed up and he wasn't looking to pleased about whatever situation was going on. "Distracted? Bumblebee, since when do you get distracted? It's not like you to become unfocused during a mission."

_'Mission? He was on duty? Oh fuck me now!'_

Ben tried to pull together a decent argument but seemed to fail. "I-I ran in-into a . . ." he paused, then looked around for anyone that could be in ear shot. Finding none, he continued. "femme."

I was confused. He got all worked up over a strange word? It's probably code or something of the like.

_'What the heck is going on here?'_

Red snorted, "You got distracted because of a femme! Since when did you have an interest in hu-"

"Sideswipe!" Barked the smaller man that stood next to the burly one. "If you're not careful I'll haul your ass back to base and you will have to wait there until we find him! Is that understood?!'

Red, whose name was apparently Sideswipe (_though it must be some codename_), didn't take to the threat to well. In fact, he looked about ready to sock the man. "You just try it Lennox! He's my brother! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Then stop breathing down everyone's neck and cooperate!" The one with glasses intervened. He sighed, then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I know you want to find him Sideswipe, but this isn't helping. You need to calm yourself or we're going to end up being discovered. That is if we haven't already."

The big one decided that this was a good time to break in. "Everyone, report! Ratchet you first."

The one with glasses let out another sigh of exasperation. "No sign of him in the outlying towns, I checked for his signature but I received no sign of him. What about you Ironhide?"

The big, burly man (_who was apparently Ironhide_) grumbled unintelligibly under his breath. Whatever was said was lost on me. Ironhide then turned to the one called Sideswipe, who only shook his head sadly and aimed his aggression at the asphalt beneath his feet. The one named Lennox sighed.

"This is going to be a long trip. Sideswipe?" Lennox questioned. "Can't you sense him at all? I thought you could trace him with the Bond?"

"I can!" Sideswipe growled, but then his expression fell and he became confused. "Or at least, I could; for some reason I can't now. Like he's blocking me on purpose. But he's never done that before! I don't know! He could be hurt right now and I couldn't tell!"

"Then perhaps that is the cause. The reason you cannot sense him is due to his physical condition." The one named Ratchet reasoned. "He's trying to spare you pain."

Sideswipe growled again, his fists clenching and unclenching. "He's being a glitchhead if he thinks that's helping me."

"Look," Ironhide pointed out. "I admit the slagger is making this harder than it needs to be, but if we don't find him fast he's going to offline. Then no one can help the glitchhead. Are you sure you can't get through to him?"

"Do you think I haven't tried!" The young man shouted, turning on the burly man. "I've been trying every few kliks. Nothing! Not even a 'Leave me alone'. He's not telling me something and whatever it is it's not in our favor!"

At this point all six of them sighed at once. This was not good, this Sideswipe's brother was missing. That was why Ben was at the beach; he was looking for him and then he met me. Damn this is all my fault, if Ben hadn't got sidetracked they may have been able to find him already. What was I going to do? What could I do? Not much. This was a secret mission between these group of soldiers who belong to whatever faction of the military. From the sound of it, it might be Black Ops. They were using strange words but that wasn't a big deal; the military comes up with all kinds of funny codewords and codenames. But someone's life was on the line and from the sound of it could possibly be seriously injured or worse.

There wasn't any point to listening any further, I had to get out of here without being notice and that was a tall order in its self. Why did I get myself into these situations? Why?! I looked about, I was screwed indeed. I was hiding in the only cover in a fifty foot radius. If I left the patch of trees I was hiding in now, they would see me for sure. There was no choice. I had to stay.

**And there's chapter five folks! I hoped you all enjoyed it and for those who guessed correctly on who the comet was Kudus for you! I'll try and have chapter six up as soon as possible. Please don't forget to leave a review or pm me if you have any concerns or just wish to express your views.**

**Thank you to all my readers, you all are amazing! :)**


	7. Something's Rotten in Denmark

**Welcome back fans! It's me again and with the newest chapter! Chapter Six! So far so good. The response is still a little slow, but that's alright, no worries. And so the real action begins! So without further ado, Chapter Six!**

_"Ringtone"_

_'Thinking'_

**_Setting_**

**Chapter Six**

**Somethings Rotten in the State of Denmark & it ain't Pastries**

**_Somewhere in the backwoods of North Carolina_**

**_ 3rd Person POV_**

"Yes. Yes! They're perfect."

In a dark room, standing in front of a screen which provided the only source of light, was a man. He was tall, thin, and dressed in a equally expensive dark Italian suit. In the lighting from the screen, one could make out his almost white hair even though he looked not a day over forty. His eyes were a dark green, too dark; but one could blame it on the lighting. He stood there with his arms crossed, staring at whatever was on the screen that held his extreme interest. He smiled, though it was not a pleasant smile. It was almost the same kind of grin a fox would give before leaping onto a poor unsuspecting bunny. Although this was a fox of a different kind, one who walked in the skin of man; and he had just found his prey.

"Prepare a team. I want them at any cost." The man spoke sharply to three men who stood against the back wall opposite of the screen. He turned away from the information on the plasma and headed for the door. "This time I'll be accompanying the task force, just to make sure of its succession."

As he opened the door and prepared to leave, he looked back at the screen once more and smiled. "Yes. Perfect indeed."

He closed the door behind him, leaving the three men alone. One of them walked up to the screen to see what exactly held his boss' interest. Across the screen were two photos, each of a different girl. The one of the left was that of a small redhead with wild curly hair (_even though her hair was less than three inches long_) had bright, sky blue eyes, and a wide smile. At first glance, she looked about twelve, but when the man read the description under it he saw differently.

Kathleen Kole Spears

Age: 19

Interests: Crocheting, Reading, Writing, Archery, and Criminology

Notable Skills: Trained in Taekwondo up to blue belt, Trained in the weapon known as the Bo, Trained by father in military offense and defense, naturally skilled in diversion, excellent strategist, extremely protective of family, friends, and innocents.

Weaknesses: Defensive to a fault. Reluctance to engage in any fight. Peace loving.

Location: Keesler Air Force Base, Coral street, housing number 2946

The girl still didn't look like much in his opinion. Why the doctor had any interest in the girl he had no idea. He then turned his attention to the second picture, this one, a more worthy candidate. The girl was taller than the first one, considerably taller, and had perfect military bearing. She had long, curly brown hair that fell a little past her shoulders and her eyes were olive green. Though, the only downfall he saw in her was her eyesight: she wore a pair of thin, purple wire glasses.

This girl, unlike the previous one, did not smile and she did not show emotion. However, there was something in her eyes that made his heart skip a beat in nervousness. Her eyes were cold, cold as steel and unwavering. As if she could see him through the picture and was examining him with the greatest of scrutiny. As if he was nothing but a bug under her heel. Tearing his eyes away from her gaze that seemed to regard him with contempt, he looked below the picture in order to read the information there.

Amy Leo Terra Spears

Age: 16

Interests: Reading, Writing, Enjoys practicing Military Tactics, Knife Throwing, and Archery.

Skills: Trained in Taekwondo up to purple belt, Trained in the weapon known as sai, Trained by father in military offense and defense, naturally cunning, excellent at ambushes, do not engage when clearly agitated.

Weaknesses: Tends to jump into any fight, Can become so enraged that subject loses sight of friend and foe. Do not engage when clearly agitated. Do so at one's own risk.

Location: Keesler Air Force Base, Coral street, housing number 2946

Well the second one most certainly seemed more promising. At least they could rely on this one's abilities to survive and adapt. The man shook his head, unable to understand the first one. He turned to the other two who had come over to investigate the targets.

"Don't see why the Doc wants the first one. Seems a little . . . unreliable."

One man who was dressed in a tan suit agreed with him. "She'll break too easy. Sevarius wants them with training though. Thinks that targets who are more . . . skilled will take to the changes better. With these two exposed to military training and with more stronger spirits he thinks they'll get through stage one with ease."

The third man snarled, "In any case we have a lot to do before tonight. Get the best men we got, this is going to be one hell of a capture."

One by one the men left the room, closing the door behind them; the screen still bright with the images of the two young girls.

_**Keesler Air Force Base, front gates**_

There was no way that I could escape the clump of trees without being caught. If I tried, the small group of soldiers would most certainly catch me, and then possibly hang me for treason. Not exactly the way I pictured my demise. I sighed inwardly, not daring to make a sound for fear the five men would hear me. There was no choice, I had to stay put until they left, which at the rate they're going, might be a while. Even more out of my favor, my cell phone (_whose ringtone just happens to be Last Resort by Papa Roach, one of the loudest ringtones I have_) decided to go off at that precise moment.

_"Cut my life into pieces,_

_ This is my last resort!_

_ Suffocation._

_ No breathing._

_ Don't give a fuck if I cut my arm bleedin'._

_ This is my last resort!"_

Oh hell! I fumbled with my pants pocket in the attempt to shut the phone off before they could hear it, but it was already too late. They already did. The number? It was my mother who probably was calling to find out where I was. Oh shit, this is just not my day!

"What was that?" Ironhide asked, looking around for the source of the sound.

I stiffened, feeling my heart turn to ice and drop like a stone; I was dead. Dead, dead, dead! There won't be anything left for mom and dad to bury after these guys get through with me! I crouched as low to the ground as I could, trying to make myself as small as possible. Not too hard to do when you're four six.

"Sounded like a phone going off." Lennox commented, also scanning the area for the music's source. "Probably a cell."

"I don't see anyone. The guard for this base just walked down towards the other end." The one named Sideswipe cut in. "There's no one around."

_'Please don't find me, please don't find me, oh please don't find me!'_

I squeezed my eyes shut, as if the action would give some protection and hoping against hope that they wouldn't venture inside the gate with no guard. If they did, they would be able to see me for sure.

"I'll activate my scans." Ratchet's voice broke through my silent pleading, causing my heart to almost stop. "If there is something in the surrounding area they will pick it up."

Scans?! He had a scanner?! As in like, heat signature scans?! Oh please Lord, if I make it through this I promise I'll never eat chocolate during Lent ever again! I promise! I heard a faint buzzing sound coming from the other side of the fence, probably the scanner being activated. Oh no, oooh please no! Don't scan over by the trees, don't scan by the trees! I'm just a cute little bunny. That's right! I'm just a cute little bunny, no cellphone here!

"The scan picked up a heat signature just inside the fence behind the trees." The one named Ratchet reported and, from the sound of it, he wasn't to thrilled at finding an eavesdropper.

"Human?" Lennox questioned. I heard the sound of a gun being pulled from its holster.

Oh fuck! They're going to shoot me! Don't they have any consideration of innocent bystanders?! Wait, I guess I'm not all that innocent. What should I do?! Jump out of the trees and shout: 'Don't shoot!' At this point, that may be my best option.

"Yes." Ratchet affirmed simply. "Human."

I couldn't take it. I wasn't going to be shot like a dog by a bunch of military, trigger happy, gun fanatics who rather shoot first and ask questions later. If I was going to die, then I wanted to hold my head high and face my attacker head on; not cowering behind a tree hoping they had bad aim. I took a deep breath to steady my nerves, then jumped out from the cover of the trees, revealing myself to the five men.

"Come and face me you cowards! What kind of man shoots his target who's hiding behind a tree?!" Before I could lose my courage, I marched right up to the fence and stood my ground. "If you're going to kill me then go ahead and get it over with!"

The look of sheer dumb astonishment on these guys faces was quite the sight. Not that I was paying them any attention really, I was too focused on not being a coward to realize they were looking at me as if I lost my mind.

I spread my arms out wide and continued my ranting. "Hit me! I dare you! But I'll have you know my dad's an officer and whether or not you lot are Black Ops, he'll hunt all five of you down and avenge me! Make no mistake! My dad may be a medic but he can do things to you that would make the hardest guys skin crawl!"

Now whether or not all this was because of courage or not I can't say. More than likely it was just my fear and adrenaline talking, but I was pretty serious about it. I huffed, feeling all my adrenaline drain from my limbs. Then the realization of what I had practically shouted at them hit me and I felt my body begin to shake in terror.

"Oh shit." The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I just dared five military soldiers to kill me for listening in on a conversation that I shouldn't have. I just jumped from the frying pan and into the fire. "Kill me now."

Then, my vision went dark.

_**3**__**rd**__** Person POV**_

Bumblebee was the first to react. As the girl's eyes rolled backwards, her body buckled and pitched foreword, he launched himself with inhuman speed through the unguarded gate entrance and after her falling form. He caught her just before her body hit the hard, uneven ground.

"Katie?" He asked tentatively, shaking her a little in the effort to rouse her. Nothing. "Katie, c-can you he-hear me?"

"_This_ is the femme you got caught up with?!" Sideswipe shouted angrily, walking up the the fence and pointing to the small figure in Bee's arms. "You were wasting time with _her_ when you _should've_ been tracking Sunstreaker?!"

Bee glared at the infuriated front-liner in front of him, clearly not taken by his tone and attitude. "Th-that's not h-how it hap-ppened! She n-needed help! Since wh-when is th-that . . ."

"Bumblebee!" Ratchet warned sharply, cutting in before either of the two could argue further. "Enough! You're putting too much strain on your vocal processor! There's already been enough damage without you adding to it!"

Bumblebee silently cursed under his breath. He was so sick and tired of hearing the same thing over and over from everybot and everyone. Okay, so talking wasn't advisable but he wasn't crippled for Primus sakes! He had it up to his neck strut with Ratchet harping on him and treating him like a sparkling. Ignoring everyone else, he shifted the girl into a more comfortable position, lifted her off the ground bridal style, and walked back around the fence to join the rest of the group. As he approached Ironhide, Ratchet, and Lennox, he shot Sideswipe a dirty look then returned his attention back to the elder soldiers. He nodded at the limp form in his arms and shrugged his shoulders, silently asking what course of action he should take concerning the girl.

Ironhide sighed heavily, crossing his muscled arms over his equally muscled chest. "How much do you think she heard?"

The question was directed to everyone though Sideswipe only shrugged indifferently, not really caring about the human at the moment. He was more concerned about his missing twin than some human.

"What the slag does it matter?" He spat with a hint of steel in his tone. "Just put her in the guard house and leave her there. The guard will be back in a few kliks, she'll be fine."

Bee immediately opposed the idea, shaking his head rapidly at Sideswipe for thinking such a thing. Luckily, he wasn't the only one.

"Absolutely not!" Ratchet crossed his arms and gave the mech a stern and rather displeased expression. "We cannot simply leave the human femme alone in her condition! She just demanded we offline her, that is not a normal human reaction! We cannot simply leave her in that frame of processor."

Lennox decided that now was perhaps the time to break in. "Ratchet, I don't think she was serious. If she heard the whole thing like I think she did, then she probably saw me take out my gun. She thought that we knew she was there and decided it was in her best interest to show herself instead of hiding. Though, I gotta hand it to her, she did make quite a speech about us being cowards."

He chuckled nervously, "I think she thought we were going to shoot her."

Ironhide shook his head in confusion, "What a glitched femme. Are you sure she's right in the processor?"

Bumblebee couldn't help but disagree with the Weapon Specialist. He tightened his hold around the young woman in his arms, as if frightened that Ironhide would rip her out of his grasp. He didn't fully understand why he felt that he should defend her, but from his short time spent with the girl he knew she was not a devious kind of person.

She was genuine, bluntly honest, and seemed to go out of her way to make him feel comfortable. He learned that she would get unusually upset if she said anything even remotely offensive to him. She naturally cared about others, their feelings, and it seemed to him that she would do everything in her power to help someone. She most certainly helped him and not in a way he expected.

"S-she's n-not gli-glitched!" He protested insistently, trying to find a way to prove she meant them no harm.

Seeing as how persistent the young scout was acting, Sideswipe's anxiety over his missing twin grew at an exceeding rate. He couldn't just stand here while everybot argued over whether or not the human girl was sane. He most certainly didn't care what they did with the femme, just as long as they went back to finding Sunstreaker. His patience, and there certainly wasn't much left to begin with, had just run out.

"Does it fraggin' _matter_?!" He couldn't keep the irritation, anger, anxiety, and sear _pain_ from leaking into his voice this time. He looked from Lennox to Ratchet, from Ratchet to Bee, from Bee to Ironhide and then finally, his optics (_eyes. He was using the holoform_) fell on the figure in Bee's hold. "We're wasting time trying to figure out what to do with her! Just . ." he paused, unsure of what exactly he himself wanted to do with her.

In the end, when he finally spoke, it was soft, choked, and surprisingly wise."Just send her home; we don't need anymore humans involved. There's been enough human causalities without adding her to the list."

He frowned at the girl. She was so young compared to his race, even to Bee who was most possibly the last youngling of their kind. She had such a short life span, barely even a third of his own and for some odd reason he couldn't fathom, he didn't want to cut it even shorter than it already was. He couldn't bare another innocent involved in their war, a war none of the humans had a place in.

_'But it's their home, their world, and their lives. Of course they would want to fight. They have ones they need to protect,' _His mind reasoned with him. _'And so do I. Where the fraggin' Pit are you Sunny?!'_

He was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't even see Ironhide come up beside him. The veteran soldier clapped a hand over Sideswipe's shoulder, startling the front-liner.

"We'll find him Sideswipe." He spoke with such certainty, that no one would have dared to question it. As if no force, whether on Earth or on Cybertron, could stop him from doing so. "We'll bring him home online, kicking and screaming if we have to."

"Right." Lennox pipped in, a small smile on his face. "We're not going to give up 'Sides, we're family. Never leave a brother behind; that's what families do."

Ratchet couldn't help but scoff at Will's exclamation. "Colonel Lennox, with all do respect, how can we possibly be what you deem as 'family'? We are not related to you in anyway as it is not genetically or biologically possible."

The Colonel only shook his head, the true meaning of the statement lost on the CMO. "Maybe not that way Ratchet; it's how humans in the military chose to look at it. We live together, we fight together, and we die together. We're brother in arms. Comrades. Therefore, we are family. Isn't that how Optimus puts with you guys?"

Ironhide nodded slowly in agreement. "It is how he chooses to put it, yes. There is not much of our race left as we have been fighting for so long and have lost so many. Prime chooses to rally us by saying that we are a family unit and that we are all that could be left of our race. He reminds us that unity and our ties as comrades is what keeps us together."

"Awww! It's a Kodak moment!" Came an all too cheerful coo.

All five pairs of eyes turned to the source of the way too happy voice. The girl who Bee carried, was now awake and she heard enough to know that all was not what it seemed. She smiled widely at them, her short curls sticking up in all directions.

"Slaggit." Sideswipe cursed, Lennox and Bee facepalmed, Ratchet slowly closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, and Ironhide just blinked at the oddly cheerful redhead.

"What?" The girl asked, thoroughly confused by everyone's reaction and looking back and forth between them. "Was it something I said?"

_**First person; Katie's POV**_

If I wasn't confused before, I most certainly was now. For one, I was still alive even though I must had been unconscious for several minutes. Two, Ben was holding me . . . again _(I really hope he doesn't make this a habit_). Third . . um . . do I need a third? Well, it is always good to have a third. So third? Third, these guys were acting as if I asked them what kind of underwear they preferred. You know, boxers or briefs? Not that I would ask any guy that; mostly because I'm afraid of what the answer may be and I, for one, don't need any mental pictures. My sister provides me with enough scarring on a daily basis. Annnyway . . .

"Sooo?" I drawled, trying to piece together what the heck was going on. Then I remembered that Ben was holding me, something I wasn't too peachy keen on. I tilted my head back so I could look at him and gave him my best scowl. "If you don't mind, I'd like to be back on solid ground if you please."

Ben seemed a bit taken aback by how blunt and irritated I sounded but nonetheless, sheepishly lowered me to the ground. Once my feet were back on solid ground, I dusted myself off and returned my attention to the five men in front of me. Since I had missed out on most of the conversation (_I only came around about the time Lennox was talking about family_), I figured it would be best to start small. From what I could gather, Lennox and the two named Ironhide and Ratchet were the lead players here. Though from the way I heard the conversation from the trees, it seemed Lennox and Ironhide were really the ones in charge. Ratchet seemed to be there for other purposes.

I stuck out my hand for anyone of them to shake. May as well try to make my second impression a bit more positive. "I'm Katie. Sorry about all that. I saw you . ." I directed my attention to Lennox. "take out your weapon and I sort of freaked."

I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly and kicked a stray rock off towards the fence line. Unfortunately for me, the one named Sideswipe glared at me from under his bangs (_which when coupled with the fact his eyes are pure blue and his bangs are bright red and the fact he's glaring at me like he wants to kill me, it makes a scary as hell picture_) I visibly flinched away from him and shuffled closer to Ben in the hope that he would protect me from Sideswipe's glaring.

"Sid." Lennox warned, his tone sharp and clearly not pleased. "Can you try _not_ to make her more uncomfortable than she already is."

Now I _really_ was confused. Lennox just called Sideswipe, Sid. What is up with the names? I understand that they called Ben, Bee because in the military, people called each other by their last names. So was this guy Sid Sideswipe or Sideswipe Sid? More than likely the first one, but I never heard of names like Sideswipe, Ironhide, and Ratchet. I mean, ratchet is a tool to fix machinery! Isn't it? But I suppose it's really none of my business. After all, they could just be codenames and I'm already in enough trouble as it is.

Sid or Sideswipe or whoever he was (_maybe I'll just go back to calling him Red_) just grumbled under his breath and walked off a little ways towards the red Lamborghini that was parked near Ben's Camero. At the sound of someone clearing their throat I turned back to the three men in front of me. Now that I was up close and personal (_so to speak_) I saw each of them in more detail.

The one named Ironhide was tall, about six foot to be exact, and was defiantly huge to say the least. He had black hair cut into a buzz style, but gray was starting to seep in around his temples. He had been in battle that was sure because scars dotted his bare arms, neck, and a few on his face. There was a particularly deep, ragged one just over his right eye that when he blinked, it cut through the eyelid and carried down to the right side of his nose. It looked old.

He was dressed in Army greens, a pair of black combat boots, a tight black T-shirt, a pair of silver dog tags, but around his waist was a interesting looking belt. Well, the actual belt was fairly normal, the interesting thing about it was the buckle itself. It was large and silver, but imprinted on the buckle was a red robotic face outlined in black.

_'Hang on, haven't I seen that face somewhere before?'_

Then it hit me. Ben's shirt! The same symbol was on Ben's shirt! I peeked at Ben from the corner of my eyes and low and behold, there it was! On the right side of his shirt, right over his heart, was the very same symbol!

_'Odd. Some sort of fan club? No, that's stupid! These are military soldiers Kate! They have better things to do then play Dungeons and Dragons or whatever. It could be whatever group they belong to. I know that dad's division has their own patch.'_

Intrigued by my findings, I looked to see if Lennox or Ratchet (_if that was even Glasses' real name_) had anything similar on them. I was about so when I saw something move out of the corner of my left eye and confused by the shape, I turned swiftly to identify the figure. However, a green and black blur flashed inches passed my face only to implant itself deep within the asphalt between Lennox and myself. Immediately I recognized the weapon as one of my sister's kunai, or throwing knives. Before I could explain that there was no real threat, several things happened at once.

One: Lennox and Ironhide went straight for the pistols at their sides. Two: Ben shoved me behind him intent on shielding me from the wannabe assailant. And three: Ratchet took a defensive stance, pulling out a three inch dagger from his boot.

"Don't move!" Came a stern, feminine voice.

Knowing that there was no real threat and recognizing the owner of the voice, I peered from behind Ben's arm and smiled. "Hey Amy!" I called warmly.

My sister, however, decided to ignore my cheerful call in favor of glaring at the men surrounding me. I felt like a child caught with her hand in the cookie jar because there was only one reason why my sister was standing before me. I was really, really, late.

"Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way." My sister, who was dressed in a pair of light blue jeans, a black form-fitted tanktop that read in white letters the words "Bite Me", her favorite footwear: a pair of size eight and a half, black combat boots, and strapped to her left thigh was her kunai pouch that held up to six knives. Her tone still serious and deadly, "You hand over my sister or I kill all of you and still have one to spare!"

**That's it for this chapter, I'm sorry for the wait and all but something was up with my account and I couldn't log in at my grandmother's. My sister came over and she tried logging in but to no avail! I visted home for a while and I tried logging in fromthere and low and behold, it worked! So here I am and here you are reading Chapter six!**

**I hope all of you enjoyed and look foreward to 7 coming up soon. Next chapter? More of the mysterious Docter Sevarius and his plan for our new heroines! Duh-duh-dun! And more Autobots! Wonder how they're going to handle a hotheaded, very pissed off Amy? Oh well, you'll soon find out!**

**Thank you to all my readers and commentors! You're the best and please don't forget to leave a comment or PM me! It's the closest thing to getting paid to around here!**


	8. Overreact Much Kate?

**Hello everyone! Sorry about the wait, I had some Writer's Block that I had to sort through. I'm back and with Chapter Seven! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. Fair warning though, shit is about to hit the fan. At the rate this story is taking I might ha****ve to switch ratings to M. This fic is about to get dark and maybe a little graphic. **

**Want to know a little Fun Fact about this fic? It's acronym is OLT! OLT! LOL! It's like Jolt only without the J!**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

_**"Flashback"**_

**Chapter Seven**

**Overeact Much Kate?**

I blinked.

_ 'Shorty say whaaat?!'_

Well, this takes the cake doesn't it? I go out for some alone time, I meet a guy (_a new friend I might add_), guy takes me home (_or as close to home as he could get_), meet guy's buddies (_not quite how I would have imagined it_), mom worries; sends sister to look for me, said sister finds me hanging with a group of men and then goes Rambo on everyone's ass. Probably thought I was being kidnapped or something. My day just went from bad to worse.

Ironhide scoffed in a "pa-lease" air and then immediately wished he hadn't. With a flick of my sister's wrist, another kunai sailed directly at him and landed (_point down_) beside one of his prestigious boots. Everyone but myself jumped back in surprise and I couldn't help but roll my eyes in sheer annoyance. Seriously? _Seriously?!_ Why does she do that? Can't she just say hello like a normal person?I facepalmed and couldn't help the groan that passed through my lips.

"Amy," I stated her name in a slight warning tone as I raised my head. "Put the kunai down before you really kill one of them."

Apparently she didn't agree with me. Instead she stalked towards me, her face set in a serious expression (_just that alone made me worried cause it meant she wasn't teasing, she wasn't joking, and she didn't have her standard super evil, playful grin on_), another kunai clutched tightly in her right hand. The way she walked, the expression on her face, the way her arms swung back and forth . . . she was dead serious. However, just as she got within ten feet of us, Red seemed to have come out of nowhere because he was suddenly standing at Ben's right.

"I'd put that down if I were you." He stated coldly, his voice such an icy steel that it sent shivers of fear down my spine.

Amy stopped and slowly turned to face him, her expression vacant but her eyes were alive with anger. My eyes flitted back and forth between them, each staring down the other. It was almost like watching Horatio Caine or Leroy Jethro Gibbs glaring hatefully at a criminal that killed one of their own or someone they loved deeply. If the air wasn't tingling with such raw hostility, the sight might have been amusing to watch. Someone as thin and wiry as my sister staring down (_or rather up_) at man who had to have been a few inches under six feet. But that was not the case, this wasn't funny at all.

Amy stared back at him with equal ferocity, her green eyes ablaze with rage and when she spoke it was just as cold. "Not until you let her go and maybe if you're lucky, I won't knife you."

I glanced briefly at the others, who apparently, had moved to form a semi-circle around my sister and myself. This wasn't looking good for us at all. I shuffled my feet nervously, trying to find a way out of this that didn't involve someone ending up in a morgue. I went over all the possibilities in my head and once I found one that wasn't going to end in bloodshed, I went for it.

"That won't be necessary!" I shot forward and positioned myself between them, placing a hand to each of their chests (_or in Red's case his pectorals; who, by the way, was very toned by the feel of it_) in the effort to keep the two from attacking each other.

"Get out of the way Kate!" Amy growled at me, her eyes flashing. For the first time in a long while I felt slightly afraid of her. I shook my head, letting her know that I wasn't going to back down on this.

"No way Amy." I said firmly, not moving an inch. "Let's go home alright? Mom's probably freaking out about where we are."

"That's right." I heard Red sneer from my right. "Run away."

A surge of anger and irritation hit me dead center in the chest. How dare he?! How dare he call us cowards! He had no idea what I was protecting him from. My sister was a force to be reckoned with when angered! He had no idea how angry and violent she could be when pissed off in the wrong way. I was saving his ass here and he had the nerve to insult me?!

"What?!" My voice raised an octave or two as I whipped my head around to face him. He just stood there, glaring down at me.

"Look Buddy Boy," I warned, raising a finger and poking him in the pectorals. "I don't care who you are, where you came from, or what you here for, but if you ever . . _ever_ . . call us cowards again you'll have more than my sister to worry about!"

I watched as he raised an eyebrow at me, his red bangs falling into his brilliant blue eyes. Then, he narrowed those eyes at me and for a moment I thought they glowed.

"I don't have time to waste on someone like you."

I couldn't help but stumble backwards at his words. Sure he was pissed before, but _this_? This was downright _cold!_ He stated those words with such coolness, such bitterness, and such _hatred . . . _it was as if we were nothing but dirt under his fingernails. Like we were in his way or something. Then, realization hit me.

_**"You got distracted because of a femme! Since when did you have an interest in hu-"**_

_** "You just try it Lennox! He's my brother! I'm not going anywhere!"**_

_** "I can! Or at least, I could; for some reason I can't now. Like he's blocking me on purpose. But he's never done that before! I don't know! He could be hurt right now and I couldn't tell!"**_

_** "He's being a glitchhead if he thinks that's helping me."**_

_** "Do you think I haven't tried! I've been trying every few kliks. Nothing! Not even a 'Leave me alone'. He's not telling me something and whatever it is it's not in our favor!"**_

I stared up at Red for a moment as understanding and sadness rushed over me: He was worried about his brother.

The reason for his poor behavior was simply because his brother was out there missing and all he wanted to do was get back out there and find him (_I remembered the conversation from when I was hiding in the trees_). I could sympathize with that. If it was my sister out there missing and possibly hurt, I would do everything in my power to find her. And I sure as hell wouldn't let anyone or anything get in my way of doing so. I would do anyone bodily harm if they tried to stop me and that was more than likely how Red was feeling at this moment.

He just didn't want to deal with me and Amy because we were obstacles in his way. This team of soldiers were on a mission to find this guy's brother and because I got involved with Ben that mission was now on hold. We were all that was stopping him from finding his brother.

I stared up at him for a few moments, looking into those unnaturally bright blue eyes of his and understanding the amount of heartache he was in. For someone of my age, I'm very tight with my little sister; more so than most sisters with three years between them. We act more like twins than anything else half the time; not many people understand that. They think that most elder sisters don't want anything to do with their younger siblings but not me. I, for one, care about what goes on in my sister's life. I look out for her, I protect her, though I admit, she really doesn't need my protection. She's more than capable of handling herself, dad taught her well and plus . . . she enjoys practicing combat. She's . . . more of an enthusiast on the subject.

I dropped my hand to my side and stared with wide eyes, as if nothing else existed. "You need to go."

If was as if someone had sucked all the oxygen from the room (_wait a minute . . we're not in a room! Um . . area?_) 'cause everyone seemed to have gone stalk still. No one moved, everyone was frozen which, in a way, was sort of funny. Amy was starring at me as if I told her the Shredder was in fact real and that Raphael was her boyfriend . . wait . . if she heard that Raph was her boyfriend she wouldn't be looking as if I was crazy. Maybe . . as if I told her the Shredder was really a good guy all along and that Splinter was an Utrom. Yeah, that'll work for the face she was pulling at the moment.

The rest of this motley crew was pulling a few strange faces themselves. Ratchet seemed impassive, but I noticed that the corner of his left eye would twitch every few seconds. Hmmm . . ookay? Ironhide just glared at me suspiciously and Lennox seemed to be trying to bore a hole through my skull with his eyes. Surely they remembered that I listened in on their conversation from the trees right? Maybe they forgot.

Ben on the other hand, looked at me with a different expression that I couldn't right place. Ratchet seemed dumbfounded, Ironhide angry and suspicious, Lennox both weary and puzzled, but Ben? The blonde seemed to be trying to look into my soul again. What he saw I wasn't quite sure but it must have been enough for him to know that I didn't mean any harm in my words. He offered me a small, encouraging smile and a slight nod of his head. I was torn between thankful and a little freaked out. Okay, maybe a lot freaked out.

How the guy picked up on me and my strange ways of . . well . . being, for the lack of a better word, was beyond me. No one understood me this well, or deeply I should say, than my sister and no one knew her as deeply or fully as I did. Our parents knew us pretty well, I'll give them that, but there are always a few tidbits that no one else knows except you or someone extremely close to you. Like a sibling for example.

Now it was Red's expression that really threw me for a loop. Shock. Pure, unadulterated shock. He gazed down at me as if I had smacked him across the face or insulted his mother or something of the like. In any case, he was greatly surprised.

"What?" He breathed in a choked whisper, clearly unable to fully grasp my words. His eyes lost any trace of hostility and anger, leaving only what I could identify as confusion and . . . fear? Why fear? What did he have to fear from me?

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Was this guy stupid? Did he not hear what I said? I just told him (_in not so many words_) to go find his brother and forget about us! How was this complicated? What about this was so hard? Oh, wait . . I forgot, he's _male_! You have to spell everything out for them in neat handwriting before they can even process what you're talking about! Let alone act on it!

"Go." I insisted, trying to persuade him to understand. "Your brother needs you. You don't have time to waste on us. Go!"

"What are you-"

"GO!" I shouted as I cut him off in mid-sentence.

I turned to see the other soldiers looking at me with various expressions ranging from bafflement to shock and finally to mistrust and suspicion. Ben was the only one who seemed to regard me with understanding and . . trust?

"Kate, what the hell is-" My sister began, her voice no longer filled with anger but . . wait . . was that . . general concern? Oh well. There's a first time for everything.

"Amy, now's not a good time." I stated simply, knowing that now was probably a good time to wrap this up.

I had to find a way for these guy to let me go. If more for their sakes than mine because there was no way Amy was going to let them take me without a fight. Though I had a feeling that what I overheard in the trees may in fact be national security; even though I truly couldn't make heads or tails of it. The one named Lennox apparently had come to his senses because he stepped towards us and was suddenly speaking again.

"If you tell anyone about-" He began, his tone serious and unwavering. Just like my dad's when he had to explain something important that left no room for argument or disagreement. He was telling me how this was going to be, no if's and's or but's.

"I know," I turned to him and returned his serious military gaze. "I'll be faced with treason. Go do what you need to do. I know nothing, I saw nothing, and I _heard_ -" I put emphasis on the 'heard' "nothing."

Lennox sighed and bowed his head so he could pinch the bridge of his nose. Ratchet and Ironhide came up on either side of him and began to speak in hush whispers, though I could tell they were not happy about whatever the dark brown haired man was discussing with them. Ben, who must have felt that he had a say in whatever they were talking about, intervened and began explaining something to them. He looked over at me periodically and I knew immediately he was talking about me.

Red, however, just stood there in front of me putting on a wonderful display of a perfect scarecrow. I must say, with the face he was pulling at the moment, I thought he would make a great fly catcher. Though at this point, I was more interested in what the head honchos were going to do with me than concerned for his sudden state of vegetation.

Amy, on the other hand, took the opportunity to come up beside me and Gibbs me upside the head.

"Ow! Wha-" I began, rubbing the back of my skull and wincing when my fingers met now tender skin. However, I never got the chance to finish my statement because she glared at me with such intensity that whatever I was going to say, died in my throat.

"What. The. _Hell_. Did. You. _DO?_" She growled in my ear.

It was loud enough for me to hear but not enough to gain the attention of anyone else. I returned her glare full force, not happy with her intervention at the moment.

"Nothing!" I hissed back, trying to resist the urge to smack her upside the head in return.

"Well it had to be something!" She countered, crossing her arms and looking every bit like dad. "Military officials don't usually threaten someone with treason without a good reason you know."

I couldn't help the giggle that pushed it's way up my throat and out my mouth. "You just rhymed! Treason. Reason." I giggled again, but was cut short when she smacked me again.

"Will you focus! God, you're such a child!"

"Hey!" I protested, "Don't take the Lord's name in vain!" Then, realizing she insulted me, added "And I'm not a child!"

Amy just rolled her eyes and huffed, "Then stop acting like it. Try for once to act your age."

I snorted at the irony of her words. "What? Like you, Miss Stick in The Mud? No thanks."

"I am not a stick in the mud!" She retorted, clenching her fists to her sides as her face turned a light shade of pink.

"Are so."

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!

"Yes!"

"No!'

"Wanna bet?" I taunted, leaning into her face.

"Hell no!" She shouted as she leaned into mine.

"_Shut up!_" A new voice rang out, drawing our attention away from each other. We both turned our heads at the exact same time to look at whoever interrupted our slight disagreement and, finding it was Red, we both retaliated.

"STAY OUT OF IT!" We both shouted in unison.

_Chirp_

_ Chirp_

You know how when someone says something really inappropriate or tries to make a funny joke but ends up failing? You know how everyone goes silent as the grave and a cricket starts chirping in the background. Well, imagine that, only like with about ten crickets. All five men went quiet and just stared at us. Again. They've been doing a lot of that lately.

"Um . . please?" I added, trying (_and failing_) to bring the mood out of this state of awkwardness.

_SMACK!_

_ 'Again with the smacking?!'_

"Would you stop that!" I turned round and waved a arm at my sister in the effort to keep her from doing me anymore bodily harm. "And you wonder why _I_ have problems! As it ever occurred to you that maybe I have brain farts 'cause you're the one who hits me upside the head ten times a day! I've probably lost about half my brain cells 'cause of you Gibbsing me all the time! I'll be brain dead before I hit thirty!"

"Well if you stop acting stupid for ten minutes maybe I wouldn't do it so often!" She retorted sarcastically and again rolled her eyes at me.

Just as I opened my mouth to argue, the one named Ironhide intervened.

"If the two of you don't shut up and keep quiet I'll do it for you!" He roared, the muscles in his neck contracted and he looked as if he was about to pop a blood vessel in his temple.

I bowed my head sheepishly and suddenly became very engrossed with the asphalt beneath my gray converse. I spotted an ant near the toe of my right foot and vaguely wondered what life would be like as an ant.

_'Bet they don't have to worry about being involved in a top secret military breach. I wish I was an ant right now, then I could just scurry away under a rock.'_

I heard Amy mumble something unintelligible under her breath. Something about older sisters always pulling her into trouble or something of the sort. Humph! Like she doesn't find enough trouble on her own without my help. She's a magnet of her own making.

"Right," Started Lennox, crossing his arms and moving forward to stand straight in front of us. "We've reached a consensus on what to do with you."

He turned to face me directly and I immediately snapped to attention and stared blankly ahead, hoping against hope that military baring would protect me against whatever his verdict would be.

"Katie right?" His tone had softened and his face was not as serious.

"Yes sir?" I asked hesitantly, not quite sure where this conversation was headed. In fact, I was dreading his next words.

He offered me a small smile before he continued. "As long as you don't discuss the details of what you've heard you are free to return home. What you heard isn't enough for us to detain you or take you into custody."

My mind couldn't seem to grasp his words. After freaking out all this time of possibly endangering national security and spending the rest of my life behind federal bars, the man tells me he can't hold me?! You mean I spent all that time freaking out for nothing?!

"Eh?!" It seemed to be the only thing my brain could come up with in response to his statement.

At some point (_I'm not sure which_) my mouth had come unhinged and was hanging open in shock and my eyes were stretched as wide as humanly possible. It wasn't until Amy leaned around me to close my mouth that I realized that it was opened. I shook my head to try to regain my composure but it was better said then done.

"Y-you mean I'm free to go?" I asked shakily, still not sure I heard him correctly.

Ratchet rolled his eyes and couldn't help but make a comment at my actions. "Colonel are you sure it is wise to leave sure critical information in the hands of this girl? Wouldn't it be wise to take her in so she could be monitored?"

He raised a hand in my direction and looked to Lennox for support. However, Amy (_who's always the one to put up a fight_) couldn't help but disagree and immediately began to protest.

"Like _hell_ you're taking her! I don't care what stupid, brainless thing she did, but there's no way I'm letting you have her! You just can't go up to people and start taking 'em off the street!"

Lennox just shook his head at the . "Roy, we don't have any real cause to hold her. The information she now knows is too vague and besides, she's the daughter of a military officer. There's too much red tape to sort through without raising suspicion. In any case, finding the target is our main concern."

Ratchet, or Roy (_this greatly info surprised me 'cause Roy was my father's middle name_) as he was called, seemed to accept this (_if albeit grudgingly_) and didn't pursue the matter any further. Taking his silence as acceptance, Lennox continued.

"As I was saying, you're free to return home. Forget everything you've heard today and we won't have to make a return visit. Comprende?"

At this point I was more than ready to go home. It had to be going on eight or so and mom must really be freaking out by now. I had to get home before she took matters into her own hands and came looking for us.

I sent Lennox a salute, "Sir yes sir!"

He nodded in approval and returned my salute with one of his own, a wry grin crossing his face. "Alright kid, skidattle."

"You got it!"

I turned on my heel, grabbed my sister by the upper arm, and made a beeline for the base's gate. Amy struggled to free her arm from my death grip but I wasn't taking any chances. She was still pissed at these guys and probably wanted to have a go at the big one. I wasn't going to risk an all out massacre and held my grip on her arm. She, of course, was not happy with the arrangement.

When we finally gone about twenty feet within the base's limits, I turned and watched all five men approach their vehicles and climb inside. In unison, all four vehicles started their engines and began to leave. Leading the way was the black GMC Topkick, then the Search and Rescue Hummer, followed by the red Murcielago Lamborghini, and finally bringing up the rear . . . the yellow Camero. As they pulled away from the base, their taillights glowed brightly in the twilight of the evening.

Something deep within me hoped that Red would find his twin brother safe and sound and that perhaps I would see them again someday. Weird right? Since when do I monologue?

**Sorry about the late update, I had a lot of Writers Block to sort through and I've been working for eight days straight without any real time off to write. But here it is. I hope you all enjoyed and please don't forget to post a review! I live for those! It helps me figure out what my readers like and what new twists I can pull to keep ya'll interested.**

**Please stay tuned for Chapter Eight! And many thanks to all my readers! You have been amazing with the amount of support you've been giving me!**


	9. My World Falls

**I have returned! Sorry about the long wait, I was having trouble working out how I wanted this to play out Okay my peeps, this is where the story takes a turn. Were one door closes and another opens up. It's about to get dark and I may have to change the rating to M because of it's darker and graphic nature. But we'll see how well it goes. **

**Now, on with the show!**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**_Location_**

**Chapter Eight**

**My World Falls**

_**The backwoods of North Carolina,**_

_**The lab of Dr. Sevarius**_

"We're ready to deploy sir. Just give the order."

The four men from before were back, but this time, in a different room and were joined by an assortment of other men. Three of four originals wore suits of gray, light brown, and navy blue; the remaining eight men were dressed in black SWAT uniforms, but minus the SWAT lettering. Unlike the small, dark room they once occupied, this one was larger and more brightly lit. In the center on the room was a large, rectangular, oak table and was surrounded by twelve large (_and rather comfortable_) black office chairs. It was your basic, run-of-the-mill board room, complete with white walls, pictures of well known artwork, and of course, a smartboard that sat on the wall behind the head of the table.

The man seated at the head of the table was the thin, white-haired man with the dark green eyes and his wardrobe was quite different from everyone else. He sported a high-in, white Italian suit with a button down, long-sleeved, black-and-white, pinstriped shirt and on his feet were a pair of black, Italian dress shoes with thick heels. No tie. He glanced around the room, surveying each of the eleven men in front of him and once he was pleased with whatever he was looking for; he spoke.

"Excellent!" He grinned, crossing a leg over the other and leaning back in his chair. "I believe these subjects will be far more successful then our past . . attempts."

The man dressed in the light brown suit frowned, "What makes these two so different from the others?" He stood from his chair and gestured to the smartboard behind Sevarius, which displayed the same two images of the girls from the previous room. "How can you be sure their . ." He paused for a moment in the effort to find the right word. ". . alteration . . will result in what you've idealized?"

This time, it was the white-haired man who frowned. "For several reasons Mr. Carson."

He slowly rose from his seat and picked up a small white remote controller that lay beside a small pile of files at his place. He aimed the small device at the smartboard and pressed a button which caused the pictures to shrink, while also simultaneously pulling up what appeared to be bio's of the two females.

"These two," he waved an arm lightheartedly at the screen. "are far more durable, both physically and mentally. The reason being is that they have been trained by, and are, up to military standards. Their father," Sevarius stopped to chuckle,"has greatly contributed to the girls ability to both defend and to attack.

"Such a loving father, no? To put so much effort into the development of their independence? However, in doing so, it leaves them vulnerable and thus, prime targets. We do not need to train them in the basics of military offense and defense. Only how to control their . . reluctance to our cause. No doubt they will not comply willingly. But this is only _one_ contribution to why these two are to be considered."

"But that's the issue isn't it?" One of the three suits, the one dressed in navy blue, saw fit to add his own two cents on the subject. "Whether or not we _can_ control them. The previous experiments were more easier to control because of the lack of knowledge, because we could build from the ground up. Even before we can _attempt_ to begin the changes with these two, they can still pose as challenge. A threat even."

A murmur of discomfort and agreement passed through the room; it appeared the navy suit had made a valet point. However, Sevarius was not phased by the suit's protest.

"Indeed Mr. Rhode, but you are forgetting that this gives us an advantage as far as the time spent on combat training. If you had paid attention two weeks ago when I debriefed you on their full knowledge of combat, you would have learned that neither of them have any knowledge of firearms. Thus, we shall have no problems of controlling them if we have the presence of a firearm involved."

This seemed to have calmed the room, if a little, because everyone relaxed and the tension dissipated. The white-haired man sighed and began to massage his temples. "This does not mean we can afford to let our guards down around them. They are still dangerous. _Both_ of them." He sent a glare towards the man in the light brown suit, who promptly fidgeted and looked away.

"Let me make something perfectly clear," his tone darken as he leaned forward to place the tips of his fingers on the table. He set his gaze on each individual and, for a moment, had such an expression that several of them felt their blood chill. "These girls are the key to creating what we've been striving for. A perfect balance of weaponry that no one has even conceived, even imagined: A human weapon. They have the capability to revolutionize the way warfare is played.

"But _only_," he looked around the room sharply. "If we play this correctly. There is a fine line between success and failure in this case due to the fact they are already combat trained. We cannot underestimate what they can become at our hands. They have natural talents for strategy, diversion, cunning, ambush attacks, and for one in particular . . a need to protect." Sevarius smiled unpleasantly, "We can use these skills to our advantage, if we mold and shape them in the right ways."

The man pushed himself off the table and then turned his attention back to the smartboard. He pressed a different button and the images onscreen vanished. "Now, I've already debriefed you on how their capture is to be handled. I will be accompanying you to ensure its success. Remember, we need them alive and preferably, with all limbs attached. Any questions?"

The room answered him with only the buzzing of electricity that passed through the lights above.

"Excellent. Prepare to mobilize!"

_**Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi Ms**_

_**2946 Coral Street (housing district)**_

_**Katie's POV (first person)**_

_**8:46 pm, just after dark**_

_Tap_

_ 'I'm dead. I'm so dead.'_

_ Tap_

_ 'I wish she'd just __**say**__ something.'_

_ Tap_

_ 'The fact that she's silent means she's beyond pissed at me.'_

_ Tap_

_ 'I wish she'd yell and scream at me. Then at least it'll be over and done with and we can all go back to being friends again. . . Right?'_

_ Ta..._

"Arrr!" Amy, who was seated in the chair across from me, slammed the palms of her hands on the hard wood of our kitchen table. " Would you stop that infernal tapping! It's driving me insane!"

I winced, then clenched my fingers into a fist so I could brace them against the table's surface. I hadn't realized that I was tapping my fingers against the table until she so kindly brought the fact to my attention. There are other ways to go about it you know; ones that tended to lean more on the polite side. But this was Amy. She wasn't one for pleasantries.

"Sorry." I mumbled, ducking my head in order to escape her glaring.

She just angrily rolled her eyes at my pitiful attempt to hide from her and huffed. "This is all your fault you know. If you hadn't been hanging around with that blonde dude . . ."

I however, didn't give her the chance to finish. "That 'blonde dude' has a name you know. It's Ben and I didn't know it was a crime to talk to people! Screw me for trying to make a friend every once in a while!" I hissed back at her.

She leaned forward in the effort to get closer to my face. "Yeah and look where it got you: Threatened with treason! And all because you couldn't keep your big, fat nose out of other people's business! Way to go Kate!"

Just as I was about to make a comeback, Mom walked into the kitchen and with a very displeased expression on her face. Her arms were crossed and it looked like she may have been crying because her face was slightly red. My mom almost never cried, or at least, I've never seen her cry.

_'Shit!'_

She didn't say anything but walked up to the edge of the table on my left and looked from me to Amy and then back to me. I felt my heart sink in my chest and my body felt like it was sitting in a tub of ice for a week. Mom started to say something but then just shook her head and uncrossed her arms, which she then placed on her hips.

"Kate?" Her voice was quiet and soft spoken, not mom's usually pissed-as-hell tone she would take with me.

I swallowed thickly, "Y-yes ma'am?"

She paused for a moment as if uncertain of what she wanted to say, or maybe, how to say it. "You . . . Don't you ever, and I mean _ever_, pull a stunt like that again. You have always, _always_ answered your phone in the past and even when you haven't answered it right away, you've always called me back within five minutes. You haven't been answering my calls for the past two hours! Do you know how scared I was! I thought someone had taken you! And it doesn't matter that you're in college now and that you're nineteen, someone can still take you! I had to send Amy, who need I remind you is three years younger than you and has no business running after her older sister, to make sure you were safe! And what do I find?! You've been sitting in front of the base's gates for the past hour and a half talking to soldiers!"

As Mom found where she wanted to go with this, her ranting gradually picked up and her voice raised about three octaves. I inwardly flinched at the fact that I hadn't called her back and that Amy did indeed have to go on an all out manhunt looking for me. I felt guilty that I put her through so much stress and for not the first time in my life, wished I had done things differently. I was always screwing things up with Mom. We argued over the stupidest things, we had major communication problems, and we could never seem to agree on anything.

I messed up. Big time. There was no use in trying to explain the situation because in all truth, I couldn't explain it. I swore that I would keep Ben and Red's secret and that was what I was going to do. Even if it meant lying to my mother, which at this point, I really didn't want to do. But, I didn't really have a say in this. Did I? Well, I guess I did but that was beside the point. Once I make a promise to someone I aim to keep it no matter what. Well, almost. I wouldn't murder another person or steal or poison someone or . . .

"Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

My mom's both worried and infuriated tone brought me out of my inner world. I shook my head slowly, "No ma'am."

She stared at me for a moment as if trying to see into the depths of my soul or something. Under normal circumstances I would have defended myself and try to explain the situation from my point of view but since I really wasn't in the position to do so, I just let mom have her rant and I would keep quiet and say 'yes ma'am' 'no ma'am'. It was easier that way. Both for me and for her. Amy barely knew what I had heard and mom knew nothing at all. It was best to keep it that way. Besides, it's not like I'll ever see Ben and Red again. Right? What where the chances of that?

Mom looked like she wanted to press the matter further, but something in her face changed. Her face relaxed (_slightly_) and she brought a hand to her face in order to rub her eyes. "Fine. Just . . just call me back next time. I just don't want anything to happen to you alright? I love you."

Knowing that scarring the hell out of her was my fault (_this whole mess was_) I rose from my seat and walked over to her so I could give her the biggest bear hug I could. "I'm sorry mom. I lost track of time and had my phone on vibrate. I was so caught up in conversation that I didn't feel it ring."

I hugged her tightly, trying to let her know I was sorry for making her panic and to convey to her that I was safe. And also for the fact that I was lying to her. That especially made me feel guilty. I looked out of the corner of my eye in order to give Amy a pleading look; trying to tell her to let it go. I made a promise to them, and plus, I didn't want mom to worry more about me. Amy just rolled her eyes, but nonetheless, nodded in approval. I was going to get a worse lecture from her than from mom and it wasn't going to be pretty either. Suddenly, Mom made a strange choking noise and when I looked up I saw her struggling.

"Mom?"

"Kate, thank you . . but I can't breathe."

I immediately let go and took a step back, rubbing the back of my head in the process. "Oops."

Mom just shook her head at me sadly and laughed, "You both are going to be the death of me one day."

Apparently this statement didn't sit right with Amy because she suddenly decided to add her own two cents. "HEY! What does that have to do with me?! I wasn't the one who ran off and didn't answer her phone! I'm totally innocent of any crime! You can't throw me into the same boat as her!"

She pointed a slender finger at at me to stress her point then huffed, crossed her arms, and turned her head to the side.

Mom shook her head again and chuckled, "You're just as bad as your sister. Both of you are always getting into trouble, not big trouble, but trouble all the same. You're no angel either Amy so don't you try to play innocent."

I couldn't help but laugh at my sister's dejected expression and added smugly, "So there, Little Miss Thing."

"You," Mom suddenly rounded on me and poked me in the shoulder. "Don't have to comment on every thing I say. I'm the mother and I'll say what needs to be said. Understand?"

"Yes ma'am." I answered quietly, then added perkily, "Is Dad home?"

Mom just sighed and buried her face in her hand. "Yes. He's in the office."

Amy, on the other hand, had different plans in mind. "When's dinner? I'm starving and thanks to this one," She took the time to jab a thumb at me. "We're late."

"I don't know." Mom said playfully, rubbing her chin and looking up towards the ceiling. "I don't think you deserve dinner after the scare you two gave me today."

"Hey!" Amy protested, jumping from her chair and waving her arms around. "Don't put me in the same lot as her! This whole thing was her fault! Don't drag me down with her!"

I rolled my eyes, "Gee, thanks Ams. Glad to know you've got my back."

"I'm the Evil Super Genius here," She replied tartly and giving me a sharp nod of her head. "I'll give you up when it suits me. I have a reputation to uphold you know."

"And selling out your sister is the best way to go about it?" Asked a new voice from the kitchen doorway.

I spun on my heel and low and behold, there was my father leaning against the kitchen door frame. A twisted quirk of a smile on his face.

"DADDY!" I cried, spreading my arms wide and launching myself at him.

"Oomph!" He exhaled sharply and wrapped his arms around me shoulders. "You're just a little wrecking ball aren't you?" He asked me affectionately and ruffling my hair.

"Hey!" I protested, jerking my head away from him. "What is it and people wanting to ruffle my hair today?"

Dad cocked an eyebrow at me, "People have been ruffling your hair? I thought I was the only one who did that."

"Um . . ."

But I never got the chance to come up with an excuse for my slip of the tongue because the front door suddenly caved in with a sharp _crack!_

"What the hell?" It escaped my father as a whisper.

I glanced towards my sister and just for a moment, a brief moment at that, our eyes met and I saw something in her eyes I've never seen before. Fear. Pure unadulterated fear. My sister feared nothing and no one, or at least, she never showed it. Never let me see it. Never let someone see weakness, no matter how small. She was stronger than me in that department. I wore my heart on my sleeve, Amy, on the other hand, kept her inner feelings to herself and out of sight. It was difficult to tell how she really felt about something.

But now? Now I could see it plain as day. She was frightened and if Amy Leo Terra Spears was frightened, then the rest of us should be terrified.

My father suddenly grabbed the sleeve of my shirt and forced me behind him, causing me to inadvertently lose my balance and trip. I fell sideways into the white kitchen wall just as high-powered gunshots rang out. Dad's hand instinctively shot to the left side of his waist for his service weapon, only to find the denim of his jeans and the leather of his belt. His gun was were it always was when he was home: In the gun safe in the master bedroom.

"Shit!" I heard him curse harshly under his breath.

I couldn't see the shooters (_my father's six-foot frame was shielding me at the moment_) but there sure as hell was more than just one. As my body slid down the length of the wall, I watched in horror as my father was forced backwards by the heavy artillery rounds that were being fired into his body. Mom screamed, Amy shouted some profane curse at the assailants, and it was at that moment that something went horribly wrong in me.

Dad's frame fell backwards in slow motion, I heard my mother scream but it was long and drawn out, Amy's voice sounded harsh and full of hate, and I felt cold. Colder than I ever felt in my life. Then, I saw them. Eight men dressed in black SWAT uniforms had large black firearms pointed in our direction. But there was no big, white SWAT lettering imprinted on their bullet-proof vests and no SWAT shields. My father didn't move. I screamed. One of the men rushed at me and suddenly he had his arms around me, binding my arms to my side, and a black gloved hand over my mouth.

"Get your filthy hands off my daughter you son of a bitch!"

I stared wide-eyed as my mother, my gentle, peace-loving mother, jumped up from her spot on the hard title floor (_when had she fallen?_) and pull a long kitchen knife from the block of knives on the counter behind her.

"Leave no witnesses! We only need the two!" A new voice shouted from somewhere in the back of the men in black.

I paid the voice no mind. I didn't care who the hell he was, all I wanted was for mom to put the knife down. I knew, deep in my gut I knew, we were going to die. This was it. Dad was gone. Gone! And what had I done? Nothing. Nothing! NOTHING!

I felt my mind snap and suddenly . . my vision went red. Blood red.

I bit down hard against the black leather that protected my captor's hand. He screamed. Mom shouted again. Amy . . where was she? Where was my sister?! I felt the man's arms retract and without hesitating, I rushed forward out of his reach.

"RUN!" Mom shouted that single word at the top of her lungs; louder than I'd ever heard her yell.

_**BANG!**_

My mother's form fell. So slowly. Frozen by time which could not be stopped completely. Like watching sand slip from one's fingers. I watched, frozen and cold, as my mother's life painstakingly slipped from her and took the form of some different energy that they taught you in school. You know? Energy is neither created or destroyed? Only . . transformed? What was my mother now? My dad? What was I to become? If anything?

I must have found my voice (_how I may never know_) because I was screaming again, but it was different this time. It was as if my whole world was falling, had fallen. I felt ice cold and yet burning hot. I was dizzy, and yet, totally conscious. I was falling, hit the cold title of my kitchen that I had walked through for nineteen years and just screamed. I screamed for my mother. My father. My sister. And, for some strange reason I could never tell you: I screamed for Ben Bee. That random blonde-headed boy that I met on the beach.

As I cried out in grief and fear and anger and hate and terror and . . hell . . what else was there to scream for?! I didn't even register the sound of a gun cocking near my right ear. I wanted to die. I wanted it to be over. I wanted . . .

_**BANG!**_

_**"KATIE!"**_

Normality.

**Well? Bet you didn't see that coming! I'm not gonna give you much detail if any because I don't want to spoil anything for you. However, as you can probably figure out if you were paying attention, Katie and Amy are not dead. **

**I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and that it was well worth the wait. Please leave a comment or PM me! I live for it! Stay tuned to Chapter Nine! I love you folks! With all my heart! See ya next time!**


	10. We've Got a Problem

**I'm glad to see that many people are taking an interest in this story! Thanks a bunch to all my fans and reviewers! You guys really make my day. Anyway, on with Chapter Nine!**

**Note: OSI stands for Office of Special Investigations and is the Air Force's equivalent to NCIS. It's full title is Air Force Office of Special Investigations or AFOSI.**

_**Location**_

"Talking"

_"News Report"_

**Chapter Nine**

**We've Got a Problem**

_**One Week Later . . .**_

_**Washington D.C**_

_**Health and Human Services (NEST base)**_

_**Third Person**_

"_Breaking News! Keesler Air Force Base OSI personnel face their biggest challenge: The brutal murder of a high ranking officer, his wife, and the abduction of their two daughters!"_

Colonel William Lennox (_better known as Will to his friends and teammates_) looked up at the fairly large plasma TV that sat on the adjacent wall from his desk with shock and surprise. In all his years of service he had never heard of such a thing happening at Keesler. It was only a training base that housed the normal C-130's and F-22's. Not to say it wasn't important, but it wasn't a prime target for outside threats. Let alone inside ones. And they certainly didn't have brutal murders or abductions!

He reached for the remote that sat on a pile of files on the far corner of his desk and turned up the volume. This particular news channel was not civilian. The armed forces had a few of their own and they were only directed through certain networks so civilians wouldn't be alerted to every little thing that involved the military. It was a guilty pleasure of Lennox and he normally watched it late in the afternoon.

However, today was different, he was watching it now . . mid-morning. He had several files and reports that he had been putting off for some rainy day, but when he walked into his office early this morning he saw how out of hand they were becoming. So he hunkered down for a long day of reading and reporting and had turned on AFNS, or Armed Forces News Station, for some added background noise. He was not expecting much, but this story certainly seemed worth the listen.

The newswoman on screen was dressed in Air Force fatigues and sat behind a standard news desk. Her black hair was done up in a standard bun, her hands were folded over several papers, and a solemn expression marked her features. Off to her left (_Lennox's right_) was the picture of the family in question and they seemed pretty ordinary in his opinion. That is, until his eyes met the faces of the two daughters.

Staring back at him was the smiling face of the eldest: a short, red-head with sky blue eyes and crazy curly hair. Her face and arms were dotted of thousand of light brown freckles and she wore a pair of simple black jeans and a navy blue polo with a white butterfly stitched over the heart. Lennox felt his blood suddenly run cold and the remote slipped from his hand which landed on the desk with a loud clatter.

"Oh god!" It escaped his lips as a sharp, harsh whisper.

He knew the girl, didn't even feel the need to read the name that was listed on the bottom of the screen. Katie. He glanced at the other girl that was standing beside the young red-head. The younger sister. Amy. He remembered the name from when Katie had pecked behind Bumblebee and smiled at the light brunette that day. He returned his attention to the actual story to find the reason why these girls from a week ago were on AFNS.

_"One week ago on Tuesday night, the sixth of June, Major Leo Roy Spears and his family was attacked and murdered in the comfort in their own home. The Major and his wife, Susanne, were found Wednesday morning in the kitchen by a neighbor who had a shopping exertion with Mrs. Spears and had run out of the home screaming for help. OSI agents have reveled that the Major was shot a total of twelve times in the upper and lower torso while Mrs. Spears was shot once to the front of the skull which killed her instantly." _

_ However, the Spears' two daughters: nineteen-year-old Kathleen Kole Spears, who was home from her first year of college and had plans to stay with the family for two weeks, and sixteen-year-old Amy Leo Terra Spears, who was a sophomore in High school, were nowhere to be found and have been reported missing. There was speculation that the girls were responsible for the grizzly crime due to their absence and because no weapons were recovered from the scene. However, this has been dissolved due fact that the rounds recovered from the bodies belonged to high-powered weapons and neither one of the girls have any experience with firearms, let alone any motive to kill their parents."_

_ We urge everyone listening that may have any information on the case or the missing girls to please call the number at the bottom of the screen. Thank you and now on to our weather report. Take it away Casper!"_

How he was able to turn the plasma off he had no idea, but he did. He stared blankly at the black screen wondering what the hell just happened. When they left those two girls that night they were perfectly fine. Perfectly safe. Sure the eldest one seemed a bit rattled and the younger one was certainly confused, but that was to be expected. He did threaten Katie that if she told anyone a word of what she had heard that they might have to make a return visit. But something deep within him felt that she would keep her word, and he wasn't the only one.

Bumblebee strongly advised them that Katie could be trusted to keep the information a secret and since he was a well seasoned scout, it was in his nature to know whom to trust and who to speculate. If he trusted her, then that was more than enough for Will. Of course, the whole incident had to be reported to Optimus who wasn't happy that a human had heard sensitive information, even if that human was connected with the military. However, Prime was not outraged just slightly concerned with the situation. Bee then filled everyone in on his few hours spent with the girl, how she saw things, how she acted towards him, and especially how she taught him a new way to communicate with others.

This 'Sign Language' had certainly intrigued the Autobots and after a few short seconds, everybot on base knew how to use the language. However, that didn't mean the humans could. So Bee still had to use his trusty radio in order to covey his thoughts if he were speaking with Will or Epps or anyone of the soldiers. In the short time the young scout had spent with the young red-head, he most certainly grew attached. Lennox couldn't put a finger on it but it seemed to him that Bee was more or less sad these days.

He hadn't even improved when they were able to locate Sunstreaker, who had crashed landed on a small island in the Gulf of Mexico. They found him there a day after their encounter with the girls and were pleased to find that the reason that Sideswipe couldn't rustle a response out of his twin was due to the fact that Sunstreaker was in stasis lock for about two days. No, even after that Bumblebee was still somewhat depressed.

_'Still is.'_ Will thought bitterly.

How was he going to tell him? Tell Optimus? Tell Ratchet, Ironhide, and Sideswipe? He knew he had to, he couldn't just let this go. Besides, both girls were missing and coincidentally, right after one of them stumbles onto a secret military fraction fighting an alien war (_Okay, so she didn't really know that but that was beside the point_). He would be lying if he said he wasn't greatly troubled by this development. In fact, his greatest concern was that the Decepticons were the ones behind the murder and kidnapping.

What if somehow, Soundwave had been tracking them or one of the other Cons had come across the incident that day and took matters into their own servos? What if both girls were in the iron-clad clutches of the Decepticons right at this very moment? What if they were being tortured for intel that neither of them really had?

Lennox growled out of frustration, clutched at his hair with both fists, then let his head fall onto the surface of the desk with a loud _bang!_ What good was this worrying going to do if he didn't act on it?!

"Will?"

He let his head roll to the right in order for him to glance up at whoever walked into his office. It was Robert Epps, his most trusted human friend and his right hand man, or rather, his right hand human. Optimus was technically his right hand man . . er . . his right hand mechanical man. Argh! This was too much for his mind to handle right now!

"Yeah Rob?" He asked tiredly, still trying to come up with a way to tell his friend and his team about this devastating new development.

Epps crossed the distance to his friend's desk, his footsteps muffled by the thick blue carpet. "I was just dropping by to see if you wanted to grab a bite at mess. You've been in here for about two hours. You alright?"

At the subject of food, Will felt his stomach churn in a sickly fashion and came to the conclusion that he may not be up for eating anything at the moment. No he most definably was not alright. He raised his head from the desk and ran his hands down his face. "I . . I don't think I can eat anything right now."

Seeing how strange his friend was acting, Epps drew his eyebrows together in concern. "You sick or somethin'? Don't tell me you've hauled your ass in here just to get all this paperwork done and not get anything ta eat! You can't run on empty Will."

Lennox shook his head, "It's not because I've got too much to do Rob. It's . . ." He paused, not sure how he should put what was really on his mind.

"It's what Will?" Epps questioned, folding his arms across his chest and giving the Colonel a stern glare. "I know that look. Somethin' happened didn't it? Was it Cons? What is ole Bucket Head up to now?"

For a moment or two the Colonel didn't look at his friend, instead, he focused his attention to the window on his left. He sighed and rubbed his temples. This was not an easy thing for him to say.

"Do you remember the girl from last week who overheard us looking for Sunstreaker?" He asked, still not looking at Epps.

"Yeah?" The black man asked cautiously, not sure where this was leading. "Where you going with this Will? I thought you said she could be trusted to keep her mouth shut?"

"She's missing. So is her younger sister."

"What?!" Epps exclaimed, his voice raising an octave or two. "What'd you mean they're missing?! What the _hell_ happened Will?!"

Lennox sighed again, then turned to face his friend; his face solemn and clearly stressed.

"I'm not entirely sure myself. It appears that late that night, the same day we left them alive and well, they were attacked in their own home and their parents murdered. Their father was Major Dr. Leo Roy Spears and their mom was just a military wife. The Major was just a doctor Epps, he wasn't involved with anything high clearance or anything; just a doc."

He paused for a moment to collect himself before continuing.

"The girls haven't been found and both parents were shot with high-powered rounds. The strange thing about it was that the mother was shot once to the front of the skull while the Major was shot a total of twelve times to the upper and lower torso. The front door of the housing unit was pretty much demolished and I think OSI believes there were multiple assailants. Whatever the case may be Rob, Katie has only a limited amount of knowledge of us and it's very suspicious that she and her sister go missing right after they run into us."

Rob stared blankly at his friend for a moment or so before his expression turned to one of both anger and deep concern. "_Damn!_ Do you think the Cons are behind this? You think one of them may have seen the girls with you and took them in order to get more information?"

Lennox rose from his seat and walked to the front of the desk where he leaned against the wood. "I don't know, but we can't rule out the possibility. The physical evidence supports that a human, or multiple humans, were the ones who attacked the Spears but that doesn't mean there aren't humans who are willing to do the Cons dirty work. After what happened in Chicago last year, there's plenty of evidence that supports the idea that humans are willing to work for the them."

Epps grumbled something unintelligible under his breath then growled out of frustration. "So, what you want to do? We can't exactly go knocking on the Cons front door and demand them to give the girls up. Slag, we don't even know where they're hiding!" His face fell and along with it, his anger; leaving behind deep concern and a ting of what looked like to Lennox, fear. "Will, how the hell are we gonna find them?"

The Colonel let out a long breath, then pushed himself off the desk. "I don't know Rob, but one thing's for sure, we can't just sit around doing nothing while they're sitting in the hands of the Cons. We've got to find them. One way or another, we've got to find them._"_

With new determination, he marched to the door of the office and opened it. He paused for a moment, then turned to his friend, his expression blank. "Come on, I've got to tell the Big Guy, Ironhide, and Ratchet. They're not going to be pleased about this one bit and if I have to face three angry Cybertronians then I'm not doing it alone."

Will felt his mouth twitch in the feint effort of humor and despite the severity of the situation, Epps laughed wholeheartedly.

"Great! As if an angry Ratchet or Ironhide by themselves isn't enough. Now we've got to piss both of them _and_ Optimus off at once. Will, I don't think this planet can survive three angry, centuries old, giant metal aliens!"

Lennox grinned, "If we don't then they _really_ will be pissed off. I'd like to see _you_ explain to them _why_ we didn't report this to them right off the bat!"

Epps' face paled considerably, "The only thing worse than a giant, angry metal robot is a giant, angry metal robot that's kept in the dark." He shook his head, "I ain't saying shit to 'em. I'll leave that to you Colonel."

Will rolled his eyes, "Way to throw me under the bus Rob. Come on, the sooner we tell them, the sooner they'll get their anger and displeasure out of their systems, and the sooner we get to finding those girls. I just hope they can hold out long enough for us to find them."

And with that, Lennox threw the door wide and marched out of the room in the direction of the Autobots hanger; Epps following right behind him, in perfect step, not missing a beat. It was going to be a long day. Will just hoped that Optimus and the others wouldn't be too angry, the last thing he needed was Ironhide throwing another tank and destroying military assets.

Oh well, may as well prepare for the worst, and a mental list of all the possible damages Ironhide may inflict on the base. Yep, it was going to be a hell of a day indeed.

**Sorry about this one being so short, but since the last chapter did so well I was motivated to keep on going. Thanks so very much to all of you reading this story! I'm glad you are enjoying it and please leave me a review or PM me if you have any concerns or questions. Thanks all! :)**


	11. Where the Hell Am I?

**Hello everyone, good to be back again. I'm so sorry for the delay and everything, but I had to pull a lot of hours at work recently and have been so exhausted that I haven't been able to update. But, here I am! This time we're back with our girls and we'll see what this nasty Sevarius is up to. Enjoy and please don't forget to leave me a review. Thank you all.**

_**Setting**_

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Ten**

**Where the Hell Am I?**

_**Backwoods of North Carolina**_

_**The lab of Doctor Sevarius**_

_******Tuesday, June 12****th**** (one week after girls abduction)**_

_**First Person**_

_**Katie's POV**_

"Ugh . ." I groaned, everything hurt, especially my head. "Did anyone get the license plate of that thing that hit us last night? Ow, my head."

Wow, whatever it was, it had to be bad. Especially since I just used a Mikey quote from the _TMNT (2007) _film. I rarely use anything by him, if at all, and plus I just don't like his quotes. I really do like his character, just not how they portrayed him in the movie; they made him too scatter-brained. In any case, the first thing I noticed was that my body felt like it was put through a food processor. I wiggled my fingers and flexed my toes just to start off with. Dad always said that when you don't know what's hurt, start with those first. Start small he was always telling me. Wait . . . DAD!

At the memory of my father falling before me, I desperately tried to move my body. Begged for it to respond to my mind's pleas to fight, to take so form of action. To save him. To save Mom. To save Amy. Amy? _Amy!_ Where was my sister?! My little sister?! I had to open my eyes, had to move, had to find her. Protect her! She was all I had left, my only family, my baby sister for heaven's sake! No way was I going to let anything happen to her!

"Kate?" My sister's voice called out, although, abet hoarse and thick.

Thank the Lord, she was alright. Well, maybe alright wasn't the best choice of words but at least she was alive; that was the important thing. I stopped struggling with my body and instead, focused on trying to get my vocals to work. I still felt too weak to open my eyes but the least I could do was try to respond.

"Y-yeah A-Ams?" It came out rough and scratchy; like I haven't had anything to drink for a week. Which made me wonder . . . where the hell was I? And more importantly, how long was I out?

"I don't wanna hear another Mikey quote out of you for as long as I live," She groaned irritably, clearly not pleased with my quotation.

I sighed inwardly in relief, at least she had the energy to be sarcastic and snarky. If she had responded any differently I would have really been worried. "Good to know your personality is still intact sis." I croaked out, my voice still feeling the strain of the lack of use.

Amy let out a bark of laughter at my second try at a _TMNT _quote, this one by Leonardo, "Ha! That's better!"

As I chucked along with her I found that my body, if a bit slowly, began to loosen. Like the coils of a snake lazily unwinding after being asleep for so long. I tried my toes and finger again, just to make sure, and then slowly began to move onto my writs and ankles. Once I found that they were now assessable to my will, I carefully moved on to the rest of me.

"Hey Amy?" My voice was much stronger now, "Is it just me, or can me move now?"

I laid still for few seconds, tense with anticipation for my sister's assessment of her physical condition. When she didn't say anything after a while I began to worry that whatever paralyzed us (_it had to have been a nerotoxin. What else could it have been?_) had now taken a serious negative affect on her.

"Amy?" I couldn't keep the anxiety out of my tone, memories of what happened before at the house was suddenly flooding back to me. Dad trying to protect me, going for the gun that was usually at his side, the sound of gunfire, Dad falling, Mom screaming, Amy cursing, a man in black rushed me, Mom's falling form, blood . . why was there so much blood? What's happening to me?!

_'STOP! Stop it! Go away! Leave me alone! It's not real! This isn't happening! IT"S NOT REAL! STOP IT __**PLEASE**__!'_

Without realizing that I was doing it, I clutched my hands over my temples and though my eyes were still shut, I squeezed them all the tighter; praying that the action would take away the pain, the memories. That it was all a nightmare and that I would wake up in my room with my family, with my life, still intact. Still alive, still breathing. Normal. Why couldn't my life be normal?_ WHY?_

"Hey, Kate?" I didn't register the voice; it was suddenly foreign to me, like another language. I wanted it to go away, to leave me alone; but it only continued. "_Kate!_ What's wrong? Answer me damn it!"

I inwardly flinched at the voice's harsh and demanding tone, but still refused to respond. What was left of my now fragile and broken world? My parents? My home? My school? My life? All gone in a flash of bullets. Now? Who knew what was in store for me or what my future held? My existence at this point . . . meant nothing to no one. I was left with nothing to ground me, nothing to _live_ for!

_ SLAP!_

Nothing could have prepared me for the amount of force that collided with my left cheek. It hit me so hard that my face was forced to move with the momentum of the strike and slam into the hard, cold concrete of the room's floor. For a moment, I laid there, dazed out of my mind and with a brand, spankin' new headache to add to the rest of possible injuries. And then, I remembered . . .

'_Amy.'_

My little, baby sister was alive; I was not alone and I was certainly not the only one suffering.

"Snap out of it!" She barked at me. I heard her shift positions and could only guess that she was able to stand up. I was proven right when the toe of one of her shoes nudged me hard in the shoulder. "Open your eyes and get up! We gotta find a way out of this God forsaken mess."

'_Well, you know what they say . . No rest for the weary; may as well give it a go.'_

I sighed inwardly and focused on prying my eyelids apart, which, after a few trys, proved to be a success. I blinked a few times to rid my eyes of the sleep, dust, and whatever crud that clung to my lashes. When they were clear I found that I was staring up at a rather dark green ceiling and the smell of musk and dampness hit my nose almost as hard as my sister's slap.

I cringed at the odor and wiggled my nose in discomfort, "What's with the smell? Ug!"

Amy snorted from far off in a corner, doing who knows what. "Wow Kate. Some guys come in, kill mom and dad, take us to an unknown local, and all you can say is that it smells in here?!"

I winced at her words, feeling as if she had slapped me again and suddenly felt guilty for saying anything at all. Once again, I wasn't paying attention to what came out of my mouth. A flash of pain hit me square in the chest as I lay there on the cold floor, which now I could identify as hard concrete. My parents. I would never see them again, never hold them again, and never laugh or fight or argue with them ever again! They were gone forever and all thanks to . . . well, whoever the hell was behind this fiasco!

"All in favor of kicking the shit out of this bastard, say aye." I hissed through my teeth, trying not to lose my temper and fly into a rage.

It wouldn't do us much good to fly off the handle now, after all, we were in the hands of an unknown enemy, had no idea what the guy was capable off or how many lackeys he (_or she_) may have. That didn't mean I didn't want to seriously mess this guy up in the worst possible way. I clenched my hands into fists and finally pushed myself upright, settling into a cross-legged position.

"Aye."

I turned my head to face her for the first time since this whole mess began, she looked like hell even in the poor lighting of the room. Speaking of the room, it wasn't a room at all. It was a cell, abet, a rather large one. The walls of the cell were the same dark green as the ceiling above us and upon closer inspection, found it was a metal of some kind. There were no bars except for the door itself, which was the same dark green as the rest of the place. The door looked just like that of a prison cell, barred and judging by the track on the ceiling, slid from side to side instead of front to back. The only source of light for the cold, dark green cell came from the hallway and even that in itself was fairly poor.

I couldn't help but chuckle at the intense use of green, "I'm getting a Stephen King moment here."

Amy cocked an eyebrow at me and shook her head. "Oh no, what now? How does any of _this_ . . ." She gestured to the air around us, "relate to King?"

I chuckled again and pointed to the ceiling, "Green."

She just stared at me blankly, periodically blinking as silence took over the room.

I sighed and gave in to further explanation, "You know, 'The Green Mile' by Stephen King? Deals with a group of guards who work the death row section of a prison? They call death row the Last Mile or in this case this particular prison has a lime green floor so the guards call it The Green Mile. You got me?"

Again my sister stared at me, the impassive look on her face was starting to creep me out. "And this is relevant . . how?"

This time I was the one who rolled their eyes. "Gee, just trying to lighten the mood a little here. Excuuuuuse me."

I continued to grumble unintelligibly under my breath while drawing my attention to the ceiling and wondering if comedy was really the best course of action.

"You're not helping Kate. Just shut up for once in your life and let me think." Amy snapped sharply, walking over to the cell door and peering through it.

I lowered my head from the ceiling and gave her an incredulous look. "Let _you_ think? So what, now you're the master mind here? Last time I checked I was the one who was the better strategist."

She sent me a cold glare over her shoulder and hissed at me under her breath. "Shut it will you! Do you want whatever psycho-maniac who thought this was a good idea to come running! We gotta get out of here fast and _quietly_. Something you don't know squat how to do!"

I opened my mouth to retort but thought better of it and closed it with an audible _clack! _She had a point, I wasn't the stealthiest person in the room at the moment; that was Amy's department. I decided to let it go and resorted to getting a closer look at the cell. I walked around the perimeter, feeling the cold walls for some kind of deformity in the metal. Unfortunately, I found nothing. They were completely smooth and clean; no deformities, no cracks, no holes, no nothing.

"Wonderful." I grumbled out of frustration. "Just peachy."

_'Maybe Amy can make something out of the door, pick the lock or something.'_

If it was one thing my sister was an expert on, it was picking locks. She might be able to manipulate the locking mechanisms just so and get us the hell out of the cell. At least, that was my hope anyway.

"Any luck with the lock?" I asked cautiously, just in case she wanted to try and take my head off again.

She growled viciously in response and threw her hands up in anger. I'll take that as a no then.

"Damn it! What the hell did they use on this thing!" She spat, kicking the barred door with her right foot with as much force as she could muster. "You can't even fit a pin in there!"

Ooookay so we were pretty much screwed. Great. Just great. Then, something else hit me right then and there. A new problem.

"Hey Amy?" I ventured, not sure if talking to her when she was in this kind of mood was really the best thing for me at the moment.

"_What?!_" She did an about face and sent me one of her reeeeaaally pissed off looks. Well, damn!

"Um . . ." I paused, pursing my lips together and trying to form this delicately.

"Spit it out already!" She snapped impatiently, crossing her arms and throwing out a hip. She was not in a very patient mood right this very minute.

"Well," I began cautiously, trying not to rouse her anger further. "Whoever put us here has to come back at some point, right? So the question is . . . How long before they do? How much time before they decide to pay us a visit?"

This was one of the few times in my life where my sister didn't come up with a response right off the bat. In fact, she sighed and turned her head away from me, keeping her arms crossed over her chest and looking as if someone offered her a ride in a P-51 then called to cancel the flight. My sister was an avid flier by the way. She even owned her own plane (_a Firebird to be exact_) and had her pilot's license.

But before Amy could come up with a response, a shadow suddenly blocked out the light from the hallway from the other side of the barred cell door.

"Not long my pets, not long at all."

**Yes I know what you're all going to say . . . That much for the three weeks I haven't posted?!**

**I'm sorry to say that I've been busy at work and I've been helping my Gran with housework and other things that needed doing. Yes, I know you all wanted more than this, but it was the best I could do for the time being.**

**Hope you enjoyed this little chapter and we'll go to the Autobots next chaptie. Hows that sound? Good? All right.**

**Thanks for reading and please leave a comment in the box below! Love you all!**


	12. How to Piss Off an Autobot

**I'm back again! I must say how pleased I am that this story is getting so much attention! I'm glad that readers are taking an interest in the plot and characters and are excited about reading more. Many thanks to my readers and fans, you're all wonderful! So without futher ado, Chapter Eleven!**

_**Setting**_

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**_"Bee's Radio"_**

**:Comm.:**

**Chapter Eleven**

**How to Piss Off an Autobot**

**or**

**Why is it so Hard to Hold a Debriefing?**

_**Washington D.C.**_

_**Health and Human Services (aka NEST Base)**_

_**Tuesday, June 12th (one week after girls abduction)**_

_**Third Person**_

Will felt a whole new wave of apprehension roll over him as he approached the Autobot hanger. He stopped in front of the open hanger door and gave Epps a sideways glance, as if conveying to him that this was not going to go over well with the giant beings inside. Epps in turn shot Will a similar look, also expressing his concern. Nonetheless, both men nodded to the other, stepped inside the enormous building, and continued onward.

"Morning guys!" Lennox pipped as cheerily as he could manage, trying to relay some sense of composer. "Anybody got an idea where the Big Guy is? We need to talk to him."

The few bots that were in the hanger, which happened to be Jolt, Mirage, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and Sunstreaker, stopped what they were doing (_conversing over past events, exchanging battle tactics, and hatching plans for their next prank_) and turned their attention to the two men before them. Mirage, who still wasn't fond of humans, scoffed and walked past the two soldiers without batting an optic at them. As the mech exited the hanger, Will could hear him mumble something harsh under his breath in Cybertronian before disappearing around the corner.

_'What's got his energon lines in a twist?' _He thought to himself as he watched the bot leave. However, Lennox didn't have time to voice the question out loud because Sunstreaker interrupted his train of thought.

"If you know what's good for you Colonel, don't talk to the lugnut. He's not in the mood to be fraternizing with humans today." Explained the yellow Lamborghini with a sneer as he crossed his arms over his chest plates.

That seemed to go for Sunstreaker as well because his own mood seemed no better than Mirage's. More than likely the two had gotten into an argument and the end result was not a pleasant one. Sideswipe sent his brother a warning look to which the twin in yellow countered with one of his own. Then, as one, both brothers crossed their arms and stared at one another intently, more than likely talking over their bond so no one else could interfere with the discussion.

_**"What can we do ya for partner?" **_Bumblebee's radio kicked in the question from some old movie western. The young scout even went as far as to place two metal appendages to his helm and did a tipping motion to reenact a young man tipping his hat out of respect.

Will couldn't help but smile a little, despite the situation he had on his hands. Leave it to be to Bee to lighten the mood and bring everything back on track. He looked at Epps for a moment, in the effort to collect himself, then turned back to the scout; his face grim.

"Bumblebee," He stated carefully, using the the young bot's full designation and keeping his voice even. "Is Optimus in his office?"

Bee, who was hardly ever called by his full designation, seemed startled by Lennox's rigid behavior. There was nothing unusual about him wanting to talk to Optimus, but the Colonel's stone face and even tone worried the scout. Did something happen? And if so . . what?

Nevertheless, Bee knelt down on one knee so he was level with his friends and answered the high ranking human all the same, _**"Boss Man's holed up at the mo'."**_Then the station changed and a female secretary's voice rippled through his speakers. **"****Can**_** I take a message?"**_

Will frowned, shook his head, and replied urgently. "Not this time Bee, we need to talk to him. _Now_."

"We got ourselves a situation, Blumblebot." Epps added, using the nickname he had for the yellow metal being. "'Sides, it's not just Boss Bot we got ta talk to. We got ta talk ta the whole bot senior staff, plus you and Swipes over there." He pointed a thumb at the red Lamborghini twin as emphasis.

At this bit of information, Bee's optics widened in interest and let out a series of chirps and whirls that neither human could understand. Fortunately, Jolt, Sunstreaker and Sideswipe could and all three of them turned to the scout in both interest and concern.

"What are you talking about Bumblbee?" Jolt asked, cocking his helm to the side and looking perplexed. "I thought the mission turned out to be a success."

Sunstreaker too looked puzzled but instead of worried or concerned, his expression was a cross between irritation and annoyed. "What did you do _this_ time Sideswipe?" He accused harshly, turning to his brother and glaring.

Sideswipe narrowed his optics in return and protested with emphasis, "_I _didn't do anything! Who was the one that allowed himself to go into stasis lock for two joors, huh?" He countered, leaning towards the yellow mech.

Lennox, who most certainly was not in the mood for petty bickering, raised his voice to giant metal beings with all the authority of a high ranking officer. "That's enough Sideswipe! Lives are at stake right now and we don't have the time to waste arguing over who's fault it is! If it's anyone's fault it's ours in the first place!"

The hanger fell into silence, except for the shifting of metal and the sound of air escaping from joints and valves. Jolt and Bumblebee seemed the most surprised by Lennox's outburst because they had never known the man to become this agitated and speak to them in such a way. Bee seemed especially hurt by the scolding as his features fell and he let out a mechanical sound of decompression. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker both looked like they wanted to throw something through a hanger wall.

"What in Primus' good name is going on!" A thunderous voice boomed from the open hanger door behind Will and Epps.

Both human soldiers did a sharp about face to see who it was but in all actuality, already knew the owner of such a gruff and often brute tone. It was Ironhide, the Autobots sole and expert Weapons Specialist. A mighty and experienced warrior who was perhaps, the oldest out of all the Cybertronians currently on earth. Even older than Ratchet and to most, that was saying something. Doc Bot was famous for being quick tempered, moody, and had quite the wrench throwing arm.

The tall, black mech loomed over all of them, his bright electric blue optics were narrowed to the point that one could only see a sliver of the azure hue within them. He did not look pleased with being distracted from whatever work he had been currently overseeing.

"I don't care if Unicron himself has erupted out of this planet's core," He rumbled angrily, "But I sure as slag hope one of you fraggers has an explanation of why in the _Primus forsaken Pit_ I can hear you all the way from Wheeljack's lab!"

Again silence ensued for a several minutes, everyone, bot and human, was afraid of the tongue lashing that may ensue if they did. Finally, Lennox dared to addressed his friend and guardian of the situation that was now at hand.

"Ironhide," The Colonel began carefully, knowing that even the slightest attempt to talk to the Weapons Specialist could mean certain doom.

For a moment, Ironhide looked like he was going to snap at the man but upon remembering that Will was both his comrade and one of his charges (_he protected the whole Lennox family_), he released an air brake in the effort to calm himself. After all, his was part of the Autobot Senior Staff; it wouldn't due for him to lose his temper in front of the human commander of NEST. That and he really didn't need a scolding by Prime on top of everything else.

The black mech ran a servo down the length of his facial plates and released another air brake before he asked stiffly, "Yes Will?"

Ironhide's tone was calmer, but still none too pleased.

The Colonel hesitated, this was not going in the direction that he had hoped. "I need to talk to you, Ratchet, Optimus, Sideswipe, and Bumblebee. We have a situation on our hands that needs top priority."

Epps, who had been quiet for sometime, added his own two cents with a snort. "Top priority my ass Will, I say it's too far gone for that." He tilted his head back so he could meet the giant, metal being's optics. "We gotta possible security breach goin' down and if we don't find those kids, the Cons will be havin' a field day with 'em."

All at once, everyone in the hanger started speaking at once. The volume on Bumblebee's radio switched as high as it could go, played the sound of a record skipping before changing the stations at an alarming rate, and blaring out broadcasts so fast that no one had time to process what he was saying.

Jolt, who was not aware of all the fine details of the mission, exclaimed something along the lines of, "What 'kids'?"

Sideswipe wasted no time in figuring out what 'those kids' meant and felt his spark gave a rather sharp, sporadic whine. Sure he thought the tiny human was an annoyance, but he sure as slag didn't want the Cons getting their rusty servos on her.

"What in the Pit happened?!" He demanded sharply, feeling the energon within his lines heat to hotter level than normal. "Why the slag do those Pit spawn fraggers have them?!"

Sunstreaker, who's own feelings were overwhelmed by his brother's concern and rather desperate behavior, was caught between between irritation (_this due to the fact he didn't think it was their problem_) and surprise (_which with him, was never a good thing_). "Why are these 'kids' so important to Cons? What could they possibly want with human sparklings?"

Ironhide, who understood the gravity of the situation, took full control. "Enough!" He bellowed, the sheer strength of his voice shook the metal walls of the hanger making the rattle in protest.

Jolt, Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe fell into immediate silence while Bee's radio gave a final crackling sound before he too, fell silent. The Weapon Specialist narrowed his optics at the young warriors then jerked his helm towards the hanger door.

"Jolt you're dismissed. Go to med bay and relay to Ratchet to meet me here." His tone left no room for questioning and certainly, no room for argument. Then he added as an after thought, "And stay in med bay, Ratchet's going to be busy for a while and somebot as to be there in case Mirage picks another fight with somebot else."

The blue mech nodded silently in agreement and left the hanger swiftly knowing that whatever had Ironhide and Lennox in such moods was both dire and imperative. When the medic-in-training had gone the black mech turned his attention to the yellow twin, Sunstreaker.

"You too Sunstreaker. Wheeljack needs an assist in the lab and since you've got nothing better to do than brawling with Mirage, I suggest you make yourself useful and get your tailpipe moving." The Weapon Specialist growled impatiently.

Ironhide's subtle threat did nothing to motivate the twin, instead Sunstreaker (_who never seemed to get along with anyone besides his brother_) naturally retaliated. " Why the slag do _I_ have to leave? Just when I land on this dirt covered, piece of rock and ready to kick some Decpticon aft, now all of a sudden _I'm_ being excluded?"

"That is not the reason Sunstreaker!" Lennox intervened, stepping closer to the frontliner's pede and tilting his head back in order to look the mech in the optics. "It's up to Optimus on whether or not to fill you in, but right now only the ones that were on _your_ search and rescue mission are the ones that need the debriefing."

The Colonel stole a glance at Sideswipe and couldn't help the wry grin that tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Besides, I got the feeling 'Sides over here will clue you in anyway."

The red mech broke out in smile, clamped his servos behind him, and rose up on his pedes slightly. "Yep!" He chirped happily. "Sorry Colonel."

Streaker sent his brother a look that read, 'Why are you so happy about it?', but Sideswipe just grinned and shot him a look that stated, "What? What's wrong with happy?" The yellow mech just shook his helm and ran a servo over his facial plates.

"Fine!" He snapped, clutching his servos into fists and throwing them skyward. "Just as long as I get to kick aft when the time comes, I don't give a flying frag!"

Without looking back, Sunstreaker headed out the hanger door, stomped off onto the tarmac (_his pedefalls vibrating violently as he did so_) and into the bright sunlight. Lennox rubbed his face with his hands in exasperation; this day was getting worse and worse by the minute. Fortunately, just as the now clearly agitated mech made his exit, the Autobot CMO came through the open doorway.

"By the Allspark!" Exclaimed Ratchet as he watched Sunstreaker storm off. "Alright!" He warned, turning around and giving everyone in the room a death glare; his tone becoming stern and clearly displeased. "Who got Sunstreaker's energon lines in a twist? If he goes on a rampage I want to know who to throw the wrench at if he severely damages somebot."

To prove his point, the green hummer opened his subspace and pulled out a giant wrench just the right size for a Cybertronian and preceded to wave it threatening at the group.

"Put that away Ratchet," Ironhide barked gruffly. "Streaker's just feeling left out; he'll get over it."

"Sure he will," Ratchet drawled, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Right after he rearranges somebot's facial plates."

"Sunstreaker's need for an attitude adjustment isn't our main concern right now Ratchet." Lennox countered as he stepped between the Weapons Specialist and the Chief Medical Officer. "We can afford to worry about it later."

The Cybertronian medic raised an eyeridge at the Colonel. "Speaking of later, would one of you care to inform me of why I am not in med bay? Chromia and Arcee both went too far in their sparring match about a cycle ago and both have minor tears in their armor that need to be wielded, twisted cables that need to be separated, and Chromia has a misaligned wheel axle that needs to be realigned."

Ratchet ticked off each medical issue with his metal fingers as he went along and proving that whatever reason they had for calling him out of his work had better be good.

Ironhide raised an eyeridge at the mention of his mate's physical health. "Is it anything serious?"

Despite the black mech's calm and collected exterior, the CMO could still make out the hint of worry and concern in his optics and snorted in response. "It's nothing to lose recharge about Ironhide. The injuries are minor and will heal in about one earth week."

"Great!" Pipped Epps, causing Ratchet to look down at him. "Then you won't have a problem with Jolt taking care of med bay while you come with us?"

The green mech sputtered before finding the words to counter the Sergeant's comment. "What, what?! Jolt is only in the apprentice stages of medicine! He isn't experienced enough to see to Chromia and Arcee's injuries without my supervision!"

Bumblebee's radio clicked to life at that moment and the spinet of a song floated from his speakers. _**"But how we survive is what makes us who we are."**_

Lennox laughed, "Very true Bee, very true."

"Rise Against, nice choice Bumblebot." Epps added in approval.

Sideswipe shook his head and gave the medic a confident grin. "'Sides Ratch, you're the one who's been overseeing his training; Jolt's got the best of the best. Give him some credit and let him take over for a couple of breems."

Ironhide nodded seriously in agreement, which he found surprising because the red mech was rarely serious off the battlefield. "Jolt is more than capable of looking after the femmes for a short period of time." He clapped a servo over Ratchet's shoulder and gave it a firm shake. "Have some faith in him, Ratchet. He'll do fine."

The CMO sighed and gave in, "Very well, I'll comm Jolt and inform him of the change. Perhaps it's time to give him a test run without my assistance and see how far his studies have come."

"I'm sure he'll do fine." The Colonel encouraged, giving the mech a pat on the pede. "He does have the best teacher."

Ratchet gave a curt nod before placing a finger to his temple and activating his comm. **:Jolt, this is Ratchet; please respond.:**

He didn't have to wait long for a response. **:This is Jolt, go ahead.:**

**:I need you to treat Arcee and Chromia while I'm in debriefing. Start small first, make sure all their wiring is in order before you weld the entrance wounds close. Then start untangling the cables in Arcee's back strut. Hopefully I will return in time to help you realign Chromia's wheel axle.:**

As Ratchet finished relaying his instructions, he could hear the hesitation in Jolt's intake valves. It seemed that the aspiring medic was concerned with the chance to try a procedure without his mentor.

**:Are you sure Sir? Shouldn't I wait until you return?:**

The CMO scoffed, **:Tell that to Chromia and Arcee while their laying on a berth. It is a simple procedure Jolt, I am confident that you can assess wiring conditions and handle a welding torch. In any case, I may be gone for quite a while.; you can't afford to wait till I get back.:**

As the connection fell silent,the green mech waited for the medic-in-training to respond but after several kliks of nothing, Ratchet wondered if he had heard him. Just as he was about to call over the comm, Jolt finally responded.

**:Very well, I'll start with Arcee; the tearing in her armor is worse than Chromia's. Is it alright if I comm you in case of emergency or if I need assistance?:**

**:Of course Jolt. I would not, as the humans say, 'leave you hanging'. I will be there within kliks if you need my help. This is about learning, not about about speed; I am here to help you when you are in need of it.:**

** :Thank you Ratchet. Jolt out.:**

** :You are welcome. Ratchet out.:**

Ratchet switched off his comm link then returned his attention to the small group before him. "Jolt will remain in med bay until my return. He's in the process of treating Acree who's armor is in the most need of treatment. Hopefully I will return in time to assist him in realigning Chromia's wheel axle."

"Now that's out of the way," began Sideswipe irritably, "Can somebot explain _how _Decepticons got their rusty servos on those two human femmes?!"

"Now wait just a minute 'Sides, we're not sure if the Cons do have 'em," Epps countered, trying to calm the now agitated frontliner.

"What do you mean you're not sure?!" The red mech roared, clutching his servos into fists at his side. "They either have 'em or they don't! Which is it?!"

Bumblebee's expression turned grave as he turned his helm to Lennox and gazing at the Colonel with solemn optics. _**"They stumble into our lives, reaching for a hand to hold." **_Clicked the radio, a sad and mournful line from a song echoed off the hangers walls and Lennox could see how upset the young scout truly was.

"Yes Bee, they need our help," Will concluded sadly. "And right now we're the only hope they have."

"So what are we waiting around for?" Sideswipe growled aggressively and heading for the hanger door. "Let's go frag those spawns of Unicron. I'll get Sunny."

Ironhide, recognizing just how infuriated the mech had become, stepped to the side blocking Sideswipe's exit. "You'll stay right here; that's an order. This is delicate Sideswipe, we just can't go charging in there with no plan. We'll only succeed in getting those femmes killed."

"And that's the last thing we want." Epps added.

Sideswipe only glared at the Weapons Specialist, "So that's it? We just wait?"

"It's the only thing we can do for now." Lennox sighed and feeling a headache coming on, rubbed his temple to help alleviate the pain. "Plus, we need to inform Optimus of the whole story. There's much more to this than just those girls being taken."

Ironhide nodded in agreement, "I'll comm Prime and let him know of the situation."

"Thanks 'Hide." Will said appreciatively.

The Weapon Specialist took a moment to place a finger to his temple and began conversing with who Will could only assume was Optimus Prime. When the black mech had finished, Lennox suddenly remembered something.

"Oh! I almost forgot," He snapped his fingers in realization and smiled. "Annabelle says hello. She wanted to come today but she had school." He shook his head in disbelief and laughed, "I just can't believe she's eight already."

It was very rare that Ironhide smiled a true, honest smile. However, where the young Lennox sparkling was concerned, his tough exterior fell away and was replaced by a more gentle side of him that few ever saw.

"Is she keeping up in her studies?" The black mech questioned with keen interest. "She isn't having any more trouble with that male sparkling is she? He better be glad that I'm not allowed to hurt humans or else he'd find himself at the other end of my cannons."

To emphasis his point, Ironhide activated both his fusion and plasma cannons and swung them in an arch as if facing off with the terrible eight-year-old male.

Ratchet rolled his optics in exasperation and crossed his arms over his chassis. "Put those away Ironhide before you injure somebot or someone. The last thing I need is repairing more soldiers."

Ironhide gave a playful shrug before deactivating the rather large weapons. "Just proving my point."

"Then consider your point proven," Ratchet snapped irritably. "I don't need every bot on base ending up in med bay! Especially when there's only a medic-in-training overseeing it!"

"Alright Hatchet," The Weapon Specialist complied, holding up his servos in a peace gesture. "No pointing the big guns at the puny soldiers," He added with a smirk.

"HEY!"

Epps, Sideswipe, Lennox, and even Bumblebee (_who managed to speak the word with both clarity and volume_) shouted in unison; each of them sending the black mech disapproving and stern looks. Epps opened his mouth to protest but before he could voice his objection, the sound of heavy (_or in this case thunderous_) footfalls approached the hanger door.

Everyone, both human and Cybertronian, turned to see the owner of such footsteps, though in reality, none of them really needed to look to know who it was. Standing in the doorway with his helm held high, optics bright and his blue and red paint shining, was the courageous and gallant leader of the Autobots: Optimus Prime. The keeper of the Matrix of Leadership and student to the once mighty Sentinel Prime, who, under unfortunate circumstances, betrayed the Autobots by striking a deal with Megatron in the hopes of reviving their planet and their people.

"Ironhide," Prime's calm, but firm baritone voice echoed throughout the hanger, capturing everyone's attention and their utmost respect. "I received your message. What has happened?"

**Well? Was this to everyones liking? I hope so. I'm sorry I haven't updated as much as you would have liked but when you have two stories to write, a job to work six days a week working from five to seven hours a day, helping grandma with cooking, cleaning, and just hanging out, and trying to get as much driving practice in as much as possible . . . Well, you can see why I'm tired a good deal of the time.**

**In any case, I know that's no excuse and most of you will tell me to get over it and so I shall.**

**For those of you interested, I've listed the songs used by Bumblebbe if you can to take a listen.**

_**"But how we survive is what makes us who we are."** -_ Survive by Rise Against

_**"They stumble into our lives, reaching for a hand to hold."** _- Something to Believe In by Aqualung

**The first broadcast used by Bee is of my own making so I have full rights to it. So there! HAHAHA!**

**Once again, many thanks to you all and I hope you all tune in next time for Chapter Twelve. Oh and do please leave a comment in the box below. It raises my spirits so to hear from my fans and readers.**


	13. One Step Closer to the Edge

**Hello everyone! I have returned once again! This time we're looking in on the girls and seeing what's up with that creepy as hell shadow. Hope you like!**

**Song and inspiration for this chapter: Roadside by Rise Against**

**Chapter Twelve**

**One Step Closer to the Edge**

_**Backwoods of North Carolina**_

_**The lab of Dr. Sevarius**_

_**girl's holding cell**_

_**First person**_

_**Katie's POV**_

_'What the hell?!'_

I stared at the shadow, which by the way, wasn't a shadow at all. It was a man who was just so happening to be standing _in_ shadow. Okaaaay, just a little bit creepy. Damn it! I just had to make another Mikey quote!

Amy, who had her back to the cell door, spun on her heel to face the source of the eerie voice. Her long, curly brown hair flew as she turned and then upon seeing the shadow, slowly backed away from the door like a cat with its back arched. Just by her sudden change in posture I could tell she was resisting the urge to fling herself at the bars and snarl like a wild animal. I could feel the raw anger and rage spilling from her and I was four feet away!

I eyed the man on the other side of the bars with caution as I stepped forward to stand beside my sister (_part of me wanted to shield him from her and the other part was I didn't want to be outside her own protection_). Something about him was off and not in the 'I don't wash my socks' off, I mean 'creepy clown from hell' off. I suppose standing in the shadows would kind of give off that kind of impression.

"And who the hell are _you_?" My sister growled through clenched teeth, shifting her body into a semi-relaxed, L-shaped stance. A regular fighting stance except she didn't have her fists raised accordingly.

I felt a combination of fear and panic rise within me; clawing its way up my throat and threatening to choke me. My head began to swim and my vision went out of sorts. I was scared. Hell, I was more than just scared! I was terrified! And I could feel a panic attack coming on. This was not the best time for one of those.

"Oh my," Shadow Man chuckled lightly. "Where _are_ my manners?"

I cringed. I didn't like his voice at all. It sounded somewhere in between Dr. Baxter Stockman's narcissistic tone and the creepy growl of General Aguila (_note: If you have no knowledge of the world of TMNT, and that includes all continuities and movies, then you might be confused_). Not a very good combination, but . . *shrugs* . . what the hay?

Amy cocked an eyebrow at him incredulously, her tone turning hard and icy. "I was wondering that too." She then raised her hands and gestured to barren, metal cell around us. "Cause this isn't the pentacle of mannerly."

I felt my heart skip a beat at my sister's daring. It was practically impossible for me (_let alone anyone else_) to see the man's features in any sort of clarity. Therefore, I couldn't gauge the guy's expression to my sister's less than tactful remark. I winced and inwardly braced myself for whatever Shadow Man was planning to dish out for such "insolence".

However, instead of going on a full on rant of 'who do you think you're talking to?' or 'do you know who I am?' (_to which I didn't really want to know_) or 'fear me for I hold your life in my hands', the man simply chuckled; which wasn't creepy at all _(that was sarcasm by the way. Just in case you couldn't figure it out_).

"My dear," Shadow Man's cool, liquid tone sent another chill down my spine and not a pleasant one either. "Your accommodations are not the most important factor at this moment. However," He paused, letting the word hang in open space.

It was then that it hit me and I suddenly had an idea of what he was trying to do: Break us. He was allowing us to feel some form of hope before taking it away. Letting us feel some form of comfort before initiating whatever plans he had for us. Waiting for us to lower our guard and strike at the most sensitive and most unguarded part of us: Our minds. One quick side glance at my sister told me she knew it too.

_'Not a chance buddy-boy.'_

I clenched my teeth together. Hard. I didn't want to say something stupid and get the both of us killed; leave it to me to get the both of us in deeper trouble. I wasn't the best person at keeping my fat mouth shut (_though you all have probably guessed that so far_). Though the temptation to do so was so strong I almost rolled my eyes. I pursed my lips together so tight that I'm sure they all but disappeared.

"However?" Amy pursued cautiously, her tone even and calm. But I could tell, even in the dim light from the hallway, the look in her eyes was far from calm. Her deep green eyes glinted with a look I've rarely seen at full force: pure hatred and disgust.

She mostly gave people (_those who were not our friends or people she didn't know or trust_) looks of disinterest or indifference, as if she couldn't give a damn about whatever it was that they were talking about or doing. To untrained eyes, she was cold and uncaring. To our friends, she gave them looks of happiness and some mild mirth, but even then she still remained in control. No wild fits of laughter or crying and certainly no total breakdowns (_heaven forbid it she so much as shed a tear around them_).

The only time she ever seemed truly herself (_or let her complete emotions show_) was around me. Yes she was relaxed around Mom and Dad (_I felt my heart sink and give several painful twists and pulls_), but with me? Most (_not all_) of her barriers came down. There were still things I wasn't allowed into, parts of her off limits even to me, but it was as close to being vulnerable as she was going to allow. I felt truly honored at that.

"I believe more light is needed," Shadow Man stated, suddenly changing the subject. He raised a hand and signaled to someone down the hallway off to our left, which would be his right. Then he returned his attention to us, "Wouldn't you say so?"

Before either of us could say 'yea' or 'nay', the light fixtures suddenly became so blindingly bright that I'm pretty sure I'll have snow-blindness for a month.

"Ah!" I threw my hands up to shield my eyes from the intensity of the light while also squeezing my eyes shut as tightly as possible.

"Holy shit!" Amy exclaimed harshly as she too, tried to shield herself from the light.

"Mr. Carson would you be so kind as to dim the lights a tad?" I heard Shadow shout to someone down the hall and sounding slightly amused. "I think our guests have become too accustomed to the dark."

_'Too accustomed to the dark my ass.' _I grumbled to myself and wanting nothing for than to punch this guy's lights out. _'Ha! Then he'll be the one too accustomed to the dark!'_

Within an instant, the lights had dimmed to a relatively tolerable intensity, though I still wasn't too happy about being snow-blinded by the guy. I slowly lowered my hand from my face and opened my left eye a crack, just in case. What I saw however, was not what I was expecting. The supposedly evil mastermind who had killed our parents and kidnapped us to an known local, was not what I expected.

"Ah!" Shadow Man (_who was not longer shrouded in shadow anymore_) exclaimed. "That's better isn't it?"

The man who stood on the other side of the bars was younger than I thought (_I was imagining so creepy old dude with wrinkles and clawed hands_), maybe early to mid forties, he had very few wrinkles, though his face was a bit on the thin side, and he was tall, about six feet. His eyes were very . . . green. Dark green. Like the Forest Green crayon that I used to love to color my trees and grass back in grade school.

It was still one of my favorite shades, but maybe now's a good time to stick with Emerald. There was something in those eyes that didn't sit right with me though. Okay yeah, they belonged to the guy that was most likely responsible for my parents murder and our kidnapping so yeah there should be something wrong with him, but that was besides the point!

It was like . . staring into the eyes of Agent Bishop (_who, by the way, is another TMNT character_). Who's cold and indifferent gaze would make anyone one want to cower in fear. On the outside the guy was calm, stoic, and always had this displease look on his face as if he smelled some gosh awful fart or something. On the inside however, the guy was a complete psychopathic nutcase with a bad habit for trying to dissect teenage mutant ninja turtles!

But I'm getting off track here.

The most surprising quality about this guy was his hair. It was white, pure white. Like Captian Toushirou Hitsugaya white! And yes people, I do happen to be a big fan of Bleach.

"Nice hair, but aren't you a little young for that color?"

It hadn't even occurred to me that I had spoken until a tan hand suddenly suctioned-cupped itself to my mouth.

"You _idiot_!" Amy hissed angrily into the shell of my ear and gripping the back of my neck hard with her other hand. "Are you _trying_ to get us killed?!"

"Mmmhmphm," Was the only thing I could get out.

I gave my sister an annoyed look and gestured for her to remove her hand from my lips. The harsh glare she sent me was enough for me to stop trying to talk and to shut the hell up. Probably a good idea at this point, eh?

"Killed?" The man on the other side of the bars (_gosh, I really need to find a better name for this guy_) asked incredulously, raising a whitened eyebrow at us. "Oh no, no, no. Not killed. The two of you are far to valuable to be killed just for voicing heedless thoughts."

_'Heedless thoughts?! Just what the hell is he playing at? I'm not . . that . . . okay well, never mind. Maybe I am but that no reason to . . . um . . okay maybe it is, but that's beside the point. Oh hell, it is the damn point! I'll just be quiet now!'_

"Valuable." Amy snorted, finally giving in and rolling her eyes at the white-haired man. But I could feel the tension in her hand as it tightened around the base of my neck. "Right."

"Quite so actually." The man stated, his calm collection never dropping for a moment, though his eyes seemed to follow every slight moment I made. "The two of you are going to revolutionize the way things are played in this world."

I felt something twinge inside me, like a string being plucked. 'Played'? Us? 'Revolutionize'? Just what the heck was this joker up to? What had he been smoking? Was he high? Tricked out? Living on cloud nine for the past eight years, perhaps? What was his end game and what the hell did it have to do with us? Not really wanting to wait around for the subject to come up, I seized the hand that held my mouth prisoner, ripped it from my lips, and ignoring my sister's protests on the matter.

"Revolutionize?!" I exclaimed loudly (_wait, I'm always loud. Hmm. I probably shouted then_), feeling a mixture of adrenaline, fear, and a tad bit angry. "What the hell do you _want_ with us! What are you planning you sneaky, murdering, cowardly bastard?!" I gestured elaborately around me, not really caring about my flailing arms.

The images of my parents bullet torn bodies filled my vision, allowing it to go crimson. Suddenly, all I could feel was anger, loss, pain, and . . . hopelessness. That feeling when you're about to go down the steepest hill of a roller coaster. That feeling were your whole insides fall out and spiral down a deep, black, bottomless pit. That feeling. I felt it in my stomach, my heart, and I felt like all the oxygen in the room had been sucked out and was leaving me clawing for air. I just couldn't breathe!

My eyes never left that all too calm and collective face. Those heartless green eyes that just stared at you as if you were nothing but a pincushion; nothing but a means to an end that I couldn't see. He just stared back at me, unblinkingly, same as me. We just looked into each others eyes, seeing into each other and seeing our own reflection back at us. But the was nothing that resembled a human in those eyes; nothing that showed me any regret, sorrow, or sympathy. Nothing at all but that unnatural calm.

"Perhaps," The man began slowly, as if wary to voice his thoughts (_not that he showed it_), and still not removing his eyes from my own. "It is still too soon. Another week should rid yourselves of these raw emotions."

I felt my anger rise again and this time, I took action. Gathering up every bit of strength I possessed, I threw myself full force against the bars of the door. The only thing protecting this guy's skinny ass from me ripping his face to pieces.

"_RAW EMOTIONS?!_" I bellowed, shouting for all I was worth; which was very loud considering I never really learned inside voices. I gripped a bar I each hand and pulled with all my might. "_WHAT THE HELL DO YOU KNOW ABOUT FEELINGS! THANKS TO YOU MY PARENTS ARE DEAD! DEAD DAMNIT! WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY UNDERSTAND?!"_

I was vaguely aware of Amy trying to wrestle me off the bars and away from the man, but it was a useless effort. I have always been physically stronger than her. I was built stockier, my muscles were larger, and I was all strength. Amy might be devious, she might be stealthy, hell she was the best at getting people riled up and acting out purely out of anger which left themselves open. But me? If and when it came down to it, I was the brute force. I didn't want to be, I didn't like hurting people whether it was physically or emotionally. But at this point . . . I just didn't care anymore.

Tears were now pouring from my eyes, causing my vision to become blurry and disorientating. I felt the small drops spill from my lids and cascade down my cheeks, only to fall from the edges of my jaw and slash against the barred door and the cold concrete of the cell. A strangled, chocked sob escaped me and my grasp on the bars failed me. I hit the the floor hard and my head slammed against one of the bars only adding to the ache that was starting to overwhelm the core of my very being.

". . . No. . . no . . ." I cried; that one word suddenly becoming the only one in my vocabulary. I crumpled in on myself, folding my legs beneath me and falling to my side. Wishing, just wishing for this to be a dream; a terrible nightmare that I would wake up from in the comfort of my father's arms.

"Go. Away."

I heard my sister's clipped tone escape her from gritted teeth, but was too drowned in my own emotions to fully register it. I felt a hand rest gently over one of my shoulders and was slighty aware that Amy was crouched beside me. The man must have hesitated because when her voice sounded again it came out as a raw and enraged as mine had a moment ago.

"_**NOW!**_"

The last thing I recalled was several pairs of shoes clacking their way down the hall and then the hallway turning dark once more.

"No . . . no . . . please . . no. . ."

Suddenly, something soft and warm folded themselves around me. Embracing me. Hugging me.

"Come on Kate, it ain't over yet. Not by a long shot. This doushebag doesn't know what he's dealing with."

I feel asleep, listening to the definite sound of my little sister's steady heartbeat. Knowing, for the time being, we were safe. She was right; we can beat this. This sorry bastard messed with the wrong sisters. Pandora's box . . . was just about to be unleashed.


	14. Time to Make a Move

**Inspiration for this chapter: Make a Move by Lostprophets**

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Time to Make a Move**

_**Health and Human Services (NEST base)**_

_**Autobot Hanger**_

_**Third Person**_

No one spoke at first, mostly because no one seemed to know where to begin; where to start. Of course, Lennox knew the answer to that. The beginning. Going back to the incident that set this whole thing in motion.

"Optimus," The dark-haired man began cautiously, treading as carefully as he could and gauging the leader's expression. "The run-in with the girls from last week? Well, there's been a critical development."

Prime kept his expression neutral as he waited for the Colonel to continue, but somewhere deep within his chest plating he felt his spark give a tiny twitch. Something was not right. Ratchet gave his leader a quick glance before returning his attention back to the human; he didn't miss the slight crinkle of Prime's eyeridges.

"Continue." Was all Optimus dared to say.

"Those two are missing Boss Bot." Epps concluded, not missing the ever so slight glare from Will, who clearly didn't want to state the matter so bluntly. The Sargent returned the stare before giving his attention back to the Autobot leader. "They were taken from their housing unit which was sitting smack dab in the middle of a secure Air Force base sometime in the early evening. Now, someone explain to me how the _hell_ that happened?!"

The man suddenly crossed his arms over his chest and began to rant nearly at the top of his lungs, his worry and stress taking their toll on him. "How in god's _green_ earth did two kids living on a military base with their parents both in the house, get _kidnapped_ from their own home and no one saw a damn thing?! Explain that to me?!"

Lennox watch as a series of emotions over take his war hardened friend. They had seen many things in their time spent in the service, things that no one could ever imagine and that was before they got caught up with the Autobot/Decepticon war. Even before that they saw things that would make any normal, average human being's blood curdle and now that they had spent the last eight years or so fighting giant alien robots, well, they saw even more carnage.

Now they were faced with a situation that was threatening to push them both over the edge: Two kids who were taken from the sanctity of their own home, from a secure military base he may add, and now lay possibly in the clutches of the Decepticons. Merciless beings with no regard to life no matter which form it took. Two kids. Kids! Innocents who didn't deserve to have their peace and normality ripped from them! Two kids who didn't deserve to lose their parents in such a brutal and violent way and what was worse, they had witnessed it too!

_'They may not be able to survive in that state of mind.' _Will thought bitterly to himself, clenching his hands into tight fists so tight that they started shaking.

His mind flitted to Annabelle, his own daughter. His little girl. She and Sara meant everything to him and the thought of them being torn away and held hostage threatened to consume him. These girls were scared, vulnerable, and their sanity was probably hanging by a thin thread.

Optimus watched both men carefully, taking note that by their physical behavior the girls situation was taking a heavy toll on both of them. The thought of two of their kind's sparklings in danger had struck them both deeply as they both had sparklings of their own. Though if the leader recalled correctly Epps' sparklings were now coming out of their youngling stages.

His released an air break in the hopes of relieving the tension that was now finding its way into the coils and lines of his metal body. He shuttered his optics and placed two fingers to the spot where a human nose would have resided if he had one.

"Do we have complete confirmation that Decepticons were involved in the children's abduction?" He asked slowly, his deep baritone voice rumbling across the hanger.

Lennox and Rob both exchanged a somber and stoney look.

"No." Will answered stone faced, his voice void of any emotion. He had to keep his emotions in check, no matter how much he wanted to throw something through the hanger wall. Optimus needed him to be calm and composed no matter how he felt at the present moment. "We don't know for sure."

Ratchet scoffed incredulously, "So in short terms, you have no proof at all that Decepticons could have taken the sparklings? That they were even involved?"

Bumblebee let out a low whine, his vocals protesting as he did so. The CMO shot the young scout a scolding look and shifted his attention to his Prime.

"We simply can't pursue the Decepticons without just cause Optimus. We must think this through with clear processors! For all we know, _humans_ could be the cause of this!" The green and yellow mech tried to reason. "We can't get ourselves involved every time a human finds itself in danger!"

Almost immediately, the entire hanger erupted in protest and outrage.

"Now wait just a klik Ratchet . . !" Ironhide grumbled, somewhat in shock of the CMO's words but was cut short by Sideswipe.

"That kid got under my circuits, but you don't have to say it like that!" The red mech protested as he took a threatening step towards the Medical Officer.

But it was the young scout's reaction that stopped everything in their tracks. He curled his servo into a tight fist and, without warning, Bumblebee threw every once of strength into slamming that fist into the hard, solid concrete beneath their pedes and feet. The ground caved under the force of the strike, cracking and splitting in all 360 degrees of direction. A nice sized indentation of his fist remained imprinted in the shattered concrete as he retracted the appendage from the ground.

Shocked into silence, everyone and everybot stood dumbfounded at the scout's unusually violent behavior. When he raised his helm, both humans and two Autobots felt icy cold chills run up and down their spines and back struts. Bee's optics were raging with a wild, blue haze that none of them had ever seen before. Though Ironhide and Optimus didn't look outwardly fazed, both of them became extremely wary of the young scout.

In all the time that they had known him, neither Ironhide, Sideswipe, Ratchet, or Optimus had ever seen Bumblebee in such a angered state. When fighting, the yellow mech killed with accuracy and quickness, never allowing the enemy to feel too much pain in their final moments. He never relied on anger or hatred in battle, knowing full well that it would blind him. He was not ruthless and took no pride or joy in the lives he was forced to take.

_**"I'm so sick of waiting, for us to make a move!" **_His radio blared to life and at the sheer volume of the line, Will and Rob clamped their hands over their ears. Then the station changed rapidly and before anyone could get a word in edgewise, another line from a different song came through his speakers. **_"So wake me when it's through, I don't want to feel, the things that you do!"_**

He stood there, servos shaking and spark vibrating violently deep within his metal chest. As suddenly as it came, the anger and raging blue fire was gone from his optics, leaving them dim and mournful. He bowed his helm and turned it away from the group, afraid of what he may find in their own optics. He had lost control of his own emotions, let his anger and concern take over and this was the result. He never felt so ashamed of himself as he did in this moment. He couldn't afford to return to his youngling frame of mind, after all, he was a warrior now. He had responsibilities, duties; soldiers relied on him, friends relied on him.

He needed to be strong, needed to be in control of himself. But he also needed to find her. That small, redhead who taught him so much; more than just another way to communicate. Thanks to her, he knew how to hold a shell to his audio receptor, he knew the proper way to roll down a hill, and he knew that deep inside that girl was a someone who was afraid of being alone. She wanted someone to reach out and take her hand; wanted someone to care.

She wanted to feel that her life meant something to someone, not just her family. Especially now that she didn't have that anymore. Her parents were gone, murdered before her very eyes. Ones who believed in her and what she was capable of doing. If she lost that sister of hers . . . Bee chanced a glance at Sideswipe, remembering the strife and pain the red mech had been suffering in Sunstreaker's absence. If Katie lost Amy, she would most certainly wither from the inside out.

He feared that it would kill her. Even though the sisters were not Cybertronian or twins, Bee felt that the connection between them was stronger than humans gave them credit for. He had heard of elderly human spouses dying soon after their partner, had heard that human parents inwardly suffered terribly when their sparkling died unexpectedly, and he had heard that even human twins shared a strange connection that no one seemed to explain. Perhaps, humans were not so different from them after all. If one looked close enough, they could see so many similarities between the two races.

They were so different and yet, so alike.

"Bumblebee."

At the sound of his designation he turned his helm, for it was Optimus who has spoken. The Prime's rumbling baritone was gentle, yet firm, letting it known to the scout that what he had to say was of great importance. Bee nodded in response, waiting for him to continue. The towering red and blue mech stood back against the entrance to the hanger, the setting sun behind him throwing hues of brilliant orange, pink, and red across the background. His leader's optics glowed an eerie electric blue and when he spoke next it was with finality.

"We will not abandon them to whatever force that has taken them; Decepticon," Prime's serious and unsettling gaze fell on Ratchet before continuing. "Or human; we cannot allow them to perish in response for our lack of security. Their creators have been executed in a brutal and disgraceful fashion, leaving them alone and vulnerable in the world. I fear that it may have been their, however slight, contact with us that has resulted in these events. We must not let them be allowed to perish."

Bee felt his spark lighten considerably and give a relieved, and somewhat enthralled, hum; they were going to find them. No matter what, he was going to bring Katie and her sister back. He may not be able to replace what they had lost, but the least he could do was bring them to a place where they would be safe. If only in a physical sense.

"Alright!" Sideswipe threw up a servo and punched the air enthusiastically. "Let's beat the slag out of 'em!"

Both Ironhide and Ratchet rolled their optics at the exact same time as the excited red mech started executing a victory dance.

"Are you sure he has to come?" The Weapon Specialist groaned, not at all pleased with having to work with overexcited front-liner.

Optimus smiled and shook his helm, "I'm sorry old friend, but I think only those who are familiar with the two females should be allowed to go. That would include all of you who are present, although . . ."

He paused and turned to Ratchet who had reopened his sub-space again and held a poised wrench in his servo. The CMO caught the Prime's gaze and reluctantly lowered the wrench from its throwing position, grumbling under his breath about a certain front-liner's less than appropriate enthusiasm.

"Yes Optimus?" He asked curtly, still trying to resist the urge to chuck the tool that was still clasped in his servo at the red twin.

The Autobot leader gave his CMO a patient smile before continuing, "I believe it would be best that you remained behind and allow Jolt to accompany Ironhide, Sideswipe, and Bumblebee."

The green and yellow mech let out a relived sigh, "Thank Primus!"

Ironhide could help but let out a roar of laughter, "Oh come on Hatchet! You could at least _pretend_ to be disappointed."

Ratchet huffed angrily and scowled at the black mech. "I don't aim to pretend anything and what I have I told you about that _name_?!"

The Weapon Specialist feigned ignorance and tapped a metal finger against his helm in contemplation. "Name? What name?" Then pretending he remembered just what 'name' Ratchet was getting at, snapped his fingers. "Oh! You mean Hatchet?"

"That's IT!"

Without any warning, The CMO chuck the metal tool as hard as he could at the black mech's helm. Ironhide didn't have enough reaction time to dodge the wrench as it sailed through the open space and made contact against his helm with a loud _CLANG!_

"Serves you right." Ratchet mumbled harshly under his breath as he headed for the hanger door. "Now if the rest of you don't mind, I have an apprentice and two femmes to check on and Primus willing, my med-bay better still be in one piece!"

And with that, the CMO disappeared around the corner still mumbling harshly under his breath.

"Gee!" Sideswipe exclaimed, throwing up his servos in defeat. "Why can't the old rust bucket lighten up?"

Ironhide sent him a glare, "Maybe if a certain pair of twins wasn't always causing his 'poor' spark and processor such 'strain' he wouldn't always be a grumpy aft."

"Hey, it's not our fault he can't take a joke!" The red mech protested insistently.

"No actually, I think it is." The Weapon Specialist countered, a smirk passing over his facial plates.

Sideswipe glared, then grinned has he pulled out his secret weapon. "Oh yeah? And calling him Hatchet has nothing to do with it?"

The black mech grumbled something unintelligible but Optimus was pretty sure it had to do with something along the lines of 'too observant for his own good' and 'slagging blackmail'.

. . . . . .

Bee stood there, out on the tarmac, looking up at the brilliant night sky. With his access to the internet, he was able to identify all the constallations and major stars in the inky blackness that was space. He had traveled through those stars once, a long time ago when he threw the Allspark into deep space. And now here he was, reunited with his friends and teammates and still locked in what seemed like a never ending battle with the Decepticons.

After centuries of fighting, he was starting to wonder if there would ever be an end to it. Maybe he was acting like a youngling, just wanting the fighting to stop so they could carry on in peace. Maybe it was all just wishful thinking on his part. Maybe it was something that just wasn't going to happen. He sighed, not wanting to think about the war right at this very moment. He was more concerned with that small little redhead that had somehow changed him. He didn't even know how she did it. She just did.

_"Now then, let's start this off properly shall we? I'm Katie."_

The memory came so suddenly he didn't know where exactly it came from. Her greeting to him, she had said it with such joy and friendliness! As if he was some old friend that she hadn't seen in a long time. As if she knew him for years. She was a little awkward though, always getting worked up whenever she spoke her mind too much. Always afraid that she had offended him. Why?

In the short amount of time they had interacted, she had never once offended him. Gave him a good scare though when she said . . .

_"It's none of my business that you were denied the basics of fun as a child, but you better pick up some normal habits or you're going to have people thinking you're an alien or something."_

Oh Primus how terrified he had been in that moment! He almost thought he would have to comm Lennox and tell him he had a situation! But in the next few seconds that followed, Katie had tripped over her own feet and landed hard on the sidewalk covered in dirt and sand. Then she just played off her alien comment like it was nothing.

_"Sorry about the stuff before, I wasn't thinking again. I tend to do that a lot so you may not want to pay too much attention to me. It may get you killed or something."_

He had chuckled at that. She was quite a funny person, the little things around her seemed to light her up from the inside. And despite her klutzy, bubbly, air-head personality, she picked up on small details that no one else seemed to notice; like how she knew he was a part of the military. And she cared so much about his lack of communtication, that she had taught him the basics of a language he never knew existed!

Some stranger she had never met and yet she cared enough to try and help him. It was dangerous, a very dangerous thing for her to do. He wouldn't have hurt her but if it was some other male human, a real one at that, she could have been in a real perdicament. That was until he caught a glimpse of what was poking out of her pocket: a knife. A switchblade to be exact.

At first he was confused and wary of why someone like her carried a weapon like. That was until she explained her father was in the Air Force. It didn't take a Prime to figure out that her father taught her to defend and protect herself. This was further proven by the fact her sister wielded throwing knives with deadly percision. If it came down to it, both girls were able to hold their own in a fight. At least, for a little while.

And that brought Bumblebee back full circle. How much of a fight did they have to put up? Were they injured? Or perhaps they were already . . .

**_"No!"_**

He shook his helm fiercly. He promised himself he wouldn't go there! He didn't want to think about it! He didn't want to see that warm, goofy, laughing spirit broken. He wanted to go searching for her tonight, right this very moment. So much so he just couldn't stand it! She was his friend. A friend like none he'd ever in his whole life encountered before. A dear friend that he felt he couldn't bear to lose.

Was that wrong of him? Was it wrong that he wanted to protect her? He knew it was his job now to guard and protect humans, especially now that his race had nowhere to go, but this? He knew he couldn't exactly be her guardian. Sam was still his charge, though the boy had grown and was now one of the few liasons between their two races. Sam came around a lot because of his job and, on a brighter note, he had finally came to his senses about Carly and left her. The boy showed up at Mikaela's house a few days later, begging for her to take him back.

Of course it wasn't going to be that easy and in the end Sam had spent the entire night camped out on her doorstep, refusing to leave until she took him seriously. She did eventually and as of yet, about six months later, they were engaged to be married. Bumblebee couldn't have been more happy for his two charges. Oh yes, he always considered Mikaela to be his charge too. Both humans in his optics have and always will be, his resposiblity. Wether they accepted it or not, but gladly . . . they did.

Which left him wondering, did he have room enough to have another charge? Most likely not, seeing as if Sam and Mikaela had a sparkling he would probably end up like Ironhide and be in charge of guarding all three of them. That and cuppled with his scouting missions, he wouldn't be able to take on another charge.

The best he could do was be her friend and of course he would protect her like he would any human, but perhaps she could be his _special_ friend. The one person he could go to no matter what the reason was. Yes, that sounded like a good idea. His _special_ friend, indeed.

Deciding that the mood was a bit too heavy for his liking, Bumblebee turned on the radio and flitted through stations searching for a song that both fitted his mood and wanting something that could help boost his confidence in finding his new friend. Finally, after about five minutes of searching, he found one he liked. A song he had onced played a line from earlier that day.

**_Something to Believe In by Aqualung_**

_You talk too much._  
_Maybe that's your way_  
_Of breaking up the silence_  
_That fills you up._  
_But it doesn't sound the same_  
_When no one's really listening_

_We stumble into our lives:_  
_Reach for a hand to hold._

_And any wonder_  
_We need to find_  
_A certain something, certain._

_Turn out the light_  
_And what are you left with?_  
_Open up my hands_  
_And find out they're empty._

_Press my face to the ground_  
_I've gotta find a reason._  
_Just scratching around_  
_For something to believe in:_

_Something to believe in._

_You have too much._  
_You're spending all your time_  
_Collecting and discovering_  
_It's not enough._  
_And no matter how you try,_  
_You never find the one you want._

_We stumble into our lives:_  
_Without a hand to hold._

_And any wonder_  
_We need to find_  
_A certain something, certain._

_Turn out the light_  
_And what are you left with?_

_Open up my hands_  
_And find out they're empty._

_Press my face to the ground_  
_I've gotta find a reason._

_Still scratching around_  
_For something to believe in:_

_Something to believe in._

**Okay people, how was that one?! Oh by the way! I DON'T own Aqualung or Something to Believe In. It's just a favorite song of mine that I thought fit the mood. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, because it focused on Bee and how he's feeling right now. I hope I didn't make him out to be a pansy, but we all know he's a kind and gentle soul, so I think I did all right.**

**Well, I don't really have to much left say cause I'm dog tired right now and sleep would be nice. I think I'll do the girls next chapter. Yeah, let's go with that. I'm . . . . falling . . . as . . zzz zzz zzz**


	15. Sounds from the Wall

**Hello my peeeps! Welcome back for Chapter Fourteen! This time around we'll be looking in on our Heroines and see how they're holding up. As usually, please review and enjoy the story!**

**Inspiration for this chapter: Behind Closed Doors by Rise Against**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Sounds from the Wall**

_**Backwoods of North Carolina**_

_**The lab of Dr. Sevarius**_

_**Girl's Holding Cell**_

_**First person**_

_**Katie's POV **_

I drew the fifth and final line through the four vertical ones. Today was the fifth day, only two more to go. I sighed and glanced down at the permanent, black marker gripped in the palm of my right hand. Funny, the only things I had on my person were a black sharpie, a pack of my favorite gum (_Trident Tropical Twist_), my android smart phone whose battery was now completely dead (_who knows when I'll be able to use it again cause I'm not exactly in the position to pay my phone bill_), and some loose change. Three nickels, two dimes, five quarters, and a single penny to be exact. Not quite enough to bargain our way out of this hell hole.

Speaking of this hell hole, it hasn't been too . . hellish. We haven't seen hide or hair of Snow-Top since we woke up. Just in case you're confused, that's what I decided to call the guy; especially since I don't know his real name. Even if I did, I'd still call the bastard Snow-Top because he sure as hell doesn't deserve the name Whitey-Chan (_it's a nickname of Toushirou Hitsugaya because of his white hair and on the account that he's so young_). Humph, no one has the honor of having a name associated with such an awesome and brilliant character.

In any case, the only contact we've had for the past five days was some guy in black coming three times a day to deliver food and water. The guy never spoke to us no matter what we tried, which turned out to be very entertaining because Amy insulted him in just about every single way possible. At the very least we were making some use out of all this. At first we weren't sure if it was a good idea to eat the food just in case they drugged or poisoned it, but eventually I got hungry enough and after examining and smelling it for a good ten minutes decided that it was worth a try. Turned out that it hadn't been tampered with at all, which to me was kinda fishy, but what the hay? Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

So Snow-Top and the goon that was with him (_what did he call him? Carson?_) hadn't poke their noses around us again, we were getting relatively good food three times a day, and we were making fun of 'The Servant' (_Amy's nickname for the guy who brought the food_). Other than that, our days were filled with silence, a lot of laying about, and the occasional conversation. I say occasional because just about every time I tried Amy told me to be quiet. That of course left me to my own devices, which, since this was me we're talking about, is never good. Most of the time at least. So I've made myself useful by keeping track of time.

So let's backtrack shall we? I know for a fact that all this madness started on the sixth of June and since then it's been about a week and five days, today would be roughly around the eighteenth. A week and five days. My second year of college would be starting in a few weeks and suddenly I felt the urge to throw up. I wouldn't be able to go. No teachers, no classes, no papers, no homework, no lectures, no eating off ramen and mac and cheese, and no more preparing my favorite Professor's Literature speeches. I felt tears prickle at the corners of my eyes at the thought of missing school. I was loving the college life, I enjoyed most of my classes, I liked my dormmate, and I loved working for one of the most brilliant Lit Professor's in the world.

In a few weeks my teachers would learn that I would not be attending my Sophomore year, my friends would find that I hadn't called or texted them in days, and most likely I would be kicked out of the university. It seemed my life was going downhill fast and, unfortunately, it showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

I groaned and let my head fall against the cold, metal wall in front of me. "Damn it."

"What is it now?" My sister's voice sounded from the other side of the room; she sounded very annoyed.

I rolled my eyes from under my lids; I wasn't in the mood for her sarcastic behavior at the moment. I didn't want to hear that I was complaining, that I was whining, that I was being a child, and that I should just grow up and deal with it. Because I knew that's exactly what she would say. She would tell me to accept it and move on, stop thinking back and start thinking forward because living in the past right now was not going to keep us alive. I knew that. I knew I had to focus on the here and now and stop reliving the past week's events. It was only going to cause me more pain, but I couldn't help it. I just didn't want to forget them: my family, my friends, my teachers, my school. My life as it once was.

But if I was to survive, I would have to stop moping, get off my fat, lazy ass, and _do_ something.

"Keeping track." I said simply, succeeding in keeping the emotion out of my tone for once. I kept my forehead pressed against the wall, not wanting to turn around and allow my face to give me away as I knew it would.

"Of what?" Instead of annoyed, this time Amy seemed generally surprised and interested.

"Time." I replied simply, still remaining neutral.

"Time?" Amy questioned, confusion echoing in her voice. "Hours? Minutes? What?"

"Days, if you must know."

"Oh."

Silence ensued between us as it usually did once we hit a dead end in conversation.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?"

"How long _have_ we been here?"

I felt my eyes snap open in surprise; this was not something I was prepared to hear. Of all the things that Amy could have asked or told me, this was not what I imagined. I would have thought that she knew, after all, she always seemed to be five steps ahead of me most of the time. Could it be that she had her mind in other places as well? Was I not the only one thinking of home or our parents or our lives before this madness? Could she have let herself float in the memories of the past too? I turned around and leaned my back against the wall so I could see my sister.

"A week and five days." I answered nonchalantly, shrugging a shoulder as if it didn't really matter. "Snow-Top will be back in a few."

Amy's face scrunched up in a silent snarl at the mere mention of the guy and shook her brunette curls in the attempt to clear whatever thought that came into her head. Her hair had become tangled and wildly frizzy and in all honesty, it reminded me of how she used to wear it in her preteen's. I could only imagine what my own hair looked like.

_'Probably just as bad.' _I thought to myself.

"What I would give for a comb." I grumbled, reaching up and running a hand through my own set of curls. "Ug!"

Amy glanced up and for the first time in the past three days, actually smirked her old playful smirk. "It's pretty bad, you look like you have a haystack on top of that empty skull of yours."

I faked a look of hurt, "Hey, my head isn't empty and, for the record, you don't look any better either. Yours is about as bushy as Hermione Granger's."

At that, Amy's smirk grew and the next thing I knew I was pinned to the hard, metal floor of the cell. I blinked rapidly in order to get my bearings and found it was slightly difficult to breathe. My sister was sitting on top of me Indian style, arms crossed over her chest, and an expression of pure smugness perched on her face. It was a smile that I hadn't seen in a very long time and I didn't have it in me to wipe it off.

"Okay, you win," I wheezed, trying to get a good breath in. "Now get _off_ me please!"

Amy opened her mouth in protest but before she could say anything a strange sound emanated from my right. In perfect sync, both of us turned our heads towards the source of the sound only to find that it had come from the other side of the wall. I looked up at my sister only to find that she too had turned back to me. We stared at each other for a moment then silently nodded in agreement. Amy, quiet as a mouse, slowly got off me and allowed me to get up off the floor. Very carefully, as not to make any loud movements, I rose to my feet and approached the wall where the sound had come from.

I looked back at Amy who had come up on my left and pressed an ear to the cold metal. She held up a finger to signal silence and then closed her eyes in concentration. Following her lead, I too pressed an ear to the wall and listened for any sign of the noise from before. I heard shuffling on the other side, like feet pacing back and forth; it sounded agitated. It went on for a minute or two before they stopped completely. I cracked open an eye to gauge my sister's expression, but it hadn't change. She remained neutral, that is until whatever was on the other side decided it had enough of whatever was making it angry.

_**BANG!**_

Something solid and heavy slammed into the metal wall with as much force as it could manage. Out of both fear and shock I flung myself off the wall and scrambled away from it as fast as I could. In my haste however, I tripped over a shoelace that had come free of its knot and fell backwards, my head slamming hard against the metal floor. A sharp cry of pain left my lips before I could restrain myself and I was vaguely aware of someone chuckling distantly; most likely my sister who thought the whole scene was humorous.

_'Ow, ow, ow, ow!' _I gritted my teeth together in order to prevent anymore screams of agony from escaping me. _'Damn it, that hurt!'_

My vision swam, colors and shapes blended and mixed forming obscure and unidentifiable masses of what used to be the ceiling, walls, and my sister. I blinked, trying to clear my eyes and reestablish my normal sight, although it took me a moment or two to remember how exactly I ended up on the floor in the first place. Amy, however, was still laughing on the other side of the room and from the sound of it, showed no signs of stopping anytime soon.

I groaned and as I struggled to get upright, snapped, "Shut the hell up Amy."

Unfortunately, it's hard to sound serious and pissed off when one can't even sit up and keeps falling back on themselves. It also doesn't help one's cause when you can't see clearly either. Whoever was on the other side of that wall was going to be in a world of hurt whenever I found a way to get my hands on them. Oh yes, I was going to beat them to a bloody, unrecognizable pulp.

"Come now sis, don't you think you're over reacting?" My sister's face suddenly appeared over me; her face about a foot from my own. She smiled smugly at me and from my position I could tell she had her hands clasped firmly behind her. "It's not my fault you're clumsy as hell."

I felt my temper rise slightly and found I would love nothing more than to wipe that stupid grin off her face. I growled through gritted teeth and narrowed my eyes at her. Why couldn't I go just one day without making a fool out of myself? Somehow I've got the feeling I've asked this question before. Hmmm. Yep, I'm pretty sure I've asked this before.

"Oh shut it." I hissed out of frustration and closing my eyes in order to stop the room from spinning. "Help me up will ya?"

"And why, may I ask, should I do that?" Amy asked teasingly, still leaning over me.

My temper gave another twitch. I wasn't in the mood for her mind games.

"Because," I growled slowly. "You're the best sister in the whole wide world and would do anything to help your poor, unfortunate sister up off the cold floor."

"Hmmm." I could hear the gears in her head turning, contemplating on my words. "I guess you're right. I _am_ pretty awesome."

I groaned inwardly; she wasn't going to let this go for a very, _very_ long time. Amy was going to milk this situation for all it was worth.

"Yes," I reluctantly agreed. "You're extremely awesome; the best sister there ever was. The Supreme Master of all that is Awesome and cool and wonderful and _WOULD YOU JUST HELP ME UP HERE!_"

I couldn't help but let my anger and frustration out. For the past few days I've felt my nerves become more and more frayed and on edge. Several times I felt as if I would go insane here in this cold cell, with nothing but the clothes on my back and the company of my sister. I missed my parents, I missed my friends, and the nightmares weren't helping either. I'm surprised I haven't woken up screaming yet. I just wake up in a cold sweat, my heart running a hundred miles an hour, and feeling so sick that I swore I would throw up my own stomach. Now I had a whole new headache, my sister was being an ass, and someone else was on the other side of that wall.

This just kept getting better and better.

"Okay, okay." Amy grumbled irritably. "No need to yell. We don't want Snow-Top or any of his goons coming back do we?"

The next thing I knew, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me sharply to my feet. My eyes flew open and I flung out my arms as I tried to keep my balance so I wouldn't fall back on my ass again.

"Thanks." I mumbled, regaining my balance and taking a deep breath to calm my anger. "Who do you think is on the other side?"

I jabbed a thumb at the wall were the sounds had come from. "You think it's someone like us? 'Cause from the sound of it, they don't like being caged anymore than we do."

Amy shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, "Don't know, but you have a point. They're not happy."

I leaned my back against the back wall and wished I knew what direction North was because then I would be able to name these damn walls. You know? East wall, West wall, North wall, South wall. It would make things easier, but if it's one thing I've learned during my 'stay' here, it's that nothing here is easy.

"What the heck do they want from us?" I wondered out loud, closing my eyes again and tilting my head up towards the ceiling. "It's not like we know any top military secrets or anything."

"You sure about that?"

The question threw my so off guard, I almost fell over. "Huh?"

Amy scowled at me and threw me a pointed look. "Don't 'huh' me. You know exactly what I'm talking about."

In all honesty I truly didn't. "Want are you getting at Ams? I don't know any military secrets."

This only seemed to make her more angry. "Then what the _hell_ was that a week ago with you and those soldiers?! Huh?! Kate, they threatened you with treason! You must know _something_about them that they don't want known to the public?"

Memories of Ben and his friends came rushing back to me. Their classy vehicles, their strange names and codewords, and especially their physical appearances. All of them except the one named Lennox had the same electric, blue eyes. They all had the same red, robotic face somewhere on their clothing or (_in the case of the big burly one with the scar over his right eye_) tattooed somewhere on their body. They were all on a mission searching for Sideswipe's brother and they certainly were not pleased with me interrupting.

"I-," I stopped, not sure of where my mind was leading me with all this. Was the reason why we were here was because of those soldiers? Was I interfering in some top secret government project? Had we seen something that could place us all in danger? Was this whole mess _my_ fault?

"Think Kate!" Amy implored, trying to jog my memory. "Did they say anything about a base or something? Did they threaten you before I got there? Did they hurt you?"

"No!" I couldn't believe she suggested such a thing. "Of course they didn't hurt me. Although I think Red wasn't too happy about Ben getting sidetracked and helping me. He pretty much seemed to hate me on the spot. Though I think that was only due to the fact we were in the way of finding his brother."

Amy opened her mouth to say something else but now that the memories of that day were coming back I put up a hand to stop her. "I do remember Lennox saying something about sending Red back to base if he couldn't control what came out of his mouth. But that's the only time they mentioned a base."

My sister gave a frustrated huff and glared at the floor. "Then what the hell do these jokers want? It's obvious that you don't know much about those guys from the beach. What other reason is there for taking us?"

I frowned, helplessness began sinking in again. "I don't know Amy. I just don't know."

I let my body sink to the cold, metal floor, and pulled my knees to my chest. "I just wish I could have seen him one more time."

"What?" It escaped her as a whisper, as if not fully understanding my words.

"Ben," I emphasized, not meeting my sister's gaze. "I wish I could see him. Even if it's just one more time."

"Why?" Suspicion was fully recognizable in her tone. I shouldn't be surprised though, I never regretted not seeing a boy before my demise before.

"I don't know," I fumbled around in my head in order to try and find an answer, but only came up empty. "He . . he was nice to me. We talked for hours, mostly about little things. Things that didn't really matter and yet, somehow, made all the difference. I don't know how to explain it Amy. He made me feel . . worth it. I guess that's really the only way I know how to put it."

I smiled softly to myself at the memory of his smile and laugh. "It was like meeting an old friend after years of separation. Like I've known him all my life and but never was aware of it. He cared about what I had to say. He actually listened to me, letting me talk about whatever was on my mind and he never once seemed bored out of his head."

Amy scoffed and walked over to me, rolling her eyes as she did so. When she was close enough, she made a fist and hit me on the top of my head. "Sounds like you're in love or somethin'."

I batted her hand away from me, a scowl planting itself on my face as I did so.

"No way!" I protested angrily, trying not to blush. "I'm not in love with the guy! We just meet for goodness sakes! And I don't believe in love at first sight! He's just a friend"

Amy merely smirked at me, "I think the lady doth protest too much."

I scowled again, feeling heat rushing to my face. "Since when do you quote Shakespeare? I thought I was the Lit freak out of the two of us?"

She just shook her head. "Dear sweet sister, I'll quote whatever I please. And for the record," She paused for full effect. "He was pretty cute."

"Oooooh!"

**Woo! I hope everyone enjoyed this one cause it was fun to write! I like writing Katie because she is based off myself and I blush really easy! My dad could tell you stories, but anyway . . . I hope this chapter made some people smile and laugh. I tried to keep up the humor because Katie tends to make anyone laugh no matter the situation, even if it's at her own expense. **

**Well, that's all for now folks! I think for the next couple of chapters we may stay with the girls, but I might do one more chapter from Bee's POV. Let me know which one you would prefer aand leave it in your review.**

**Many thanks readers, you have all been a God Sent!**


	16. No Longer Alone

**Salutations my friends! I've returned once more with a new chapter! Now, before we begin I would like to make a few statements. **

** One, I'm ever so sorry for the lack of updating. I recently was sick for four days with an on and off fever, had a bad case of Writer's Block, getting ready for Christmas, and on top of all that my great aunt died this past Saturday. My emotions have been raging like a volcano and there's been a lot of tears and heartbreak. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those in Newtown Connecticut and for all those children who lost their lives and for those left behind by such a tragic and hanis event.**

**Second, I've recently recieved some intel that this story is moving a little slow. I wish to apologize for this as I'm still working out how to introduce other characters that will eventually play an important part in this tale of mine. ****I'm sorry if it looks like I'm dragging my feet, but please have patience. This chapter should help get things on track. So without further ado, chapter fifteen.**

**Special thanks to . . .**

**Jimmy10.0 for being my 30th reviewer **

**And barricadelover40 for being my 35th!**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Fifteen**

**No Longer Alone**

_**Backwoods of North Carolina**_

_**The lab of Dr. Sevarius**_

_**Holding Cell**_

_**First person**_

_**Katie's POV**_

_Two days later . . ._

To say I was nervous would be most definably a lie. To say I was scared out of my wits wouldn't even be the half of it. To say I was running around my ten by ten cell shouting at the top of my lungs "We're all gonna die!" repeatedly with my arms waving around like a half crazed Visigoth and driving my sister out of her frickin' mind might be a little more closer to the truth. Or at least, that was how it was playing out in my head, when in actuality, all I was really doing was pacing the length of the cell. Back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. I wasn't planning on stopping any time soon.

"You know it's pointless right?" Amy's voice broke through my clouded and thoroughly freaked out thoughts.

I stopped pacing for a moment (_I was about one third finished with what had to be my forty-third turn_), staring at nothing but the opposite wall. I didn't spare her so much as a glance before continuing with my pacing. I didn't want to hear the obvious that she was trying to hand me. As if I was wasn't fully aware of it. I knew. I knew it was pointless. Useless. A complete waste of time and energy. I didn't give a flying leap. It made me _feel_ better. It made me feel like I was _doing_ something. That I was fighting. That I was trying to survive. That I hadn't resigned myself to whatever fate that was coming to meet me at some point today.

I just focused on the wall in front of me as I turned again and began my forty-fourth turn. I kept my arms loose by my sides, as if they weren't even attached to my shoulders. I let my whole body go numb, a sort of meditation if you will, trying not to feel, not to see or smell or hear. Tried to block everything from my mind and focused on propelling myself forward. A part of me did this so I would stop the panicked feeling that threatened to consume me; that tried to force its way up my throat and suffocate me. That part of me was my mind trying to protect itself by blocking out the stress and pain that I've endured and any that the future would bring. Like how Novocain was supposed to numb your gum before the dentist began extracting a tooth. My mind was preparing itself, making an effort to preserve who I was at my core so I could survive.

Instinct.

The other part of me did this as an act of defiance. That I wasn't just going to let the psychological torture win and reduce me to some child holding their knees to their chest and rocking back and forth. I admit, I'm psychologically weaker than my sister. The barriers around my mind, my heart, and my feelings were weaker in comparison to Amy's stone, prison fortress. I would break before she did, this was a fact. A fact. I would not hold up well to psychological torture. Hateful words, looks, and actions affected me deeply. I _cared_ too much. If they resorted to such torture, I would crumble and most likely loose myself. I would be driven into madness. The core of who I was as a person would die and wither away.

Oh they may let me live. But there's a difference between living and being _alive_.

_Living_ is were all your organs are functional, your heart can beat, you can breathe on your own, you have complete muscle function, you can run, jump, dance, walk, and crawl. Living is were your physical health is high enough to support you.

Being _alive_ is how you take the life you were given and transforming it as your own. For me, being alive is dancing in the rain, reading a book at the beach, and sitting around my dinning room table playing a game of 'Catan' with my family while playfully insulting each other. Being alive is were you go window shopping with your friends, were you just laugh because you don't need a reason to, and were spending your time laying on a grassy hill doing absolutely nothing is the most proficient thing you've ever done.

Being _alive_ is when even though you have cancer, or you have no legs, or you have half a kidney, or you have a blood disease, or if you have dwarfism, you don't stop doing what makes you happy. Being alive is having the courage to get up in the morning and being the complete opposite of what the world wants you to be. Being alive is defying the odds, is struggling through the worst that life gives you and just when you think you'll never make it, you give one final push and then suddenly, you've done it. Being alive is failing and failing and failing and failing, but never stopping. Better to try and fail than to not try at all.

I paused at that.

I wonder, if I already survived the struggles that everyone else has gone through . . . the family issues, the finding out who you are, the bullying, the lack of friends, the lack of popularity, the test failures, the struggle to win a cross country race, the blood, sweat, and tears that went into all my Speech practices, the self-guessing, and the lack of confidence in my abilities. If I survived and over came all of those (_or at least most of them_) then what else could I survive? I went through a lot of that and even once thought of giving it all up, throwing it all out a window, and yet . . here I was. Alive and now standing in the middle of the biggest challenge I had ever had to face. No parents to go home to cry to, no bed to crawl in and refuse to leave, no friends to text to convey how my parents didn't understand, and no way back. I was blocked on all sides but one.

I could only go forward.

Something I was terrified of. I didn't want to face Snow-Top, I didn't want to be here in this cell, and I sure as hell didn't want to die. I wanted to run, to bolt as soon as possible and run far, far away. I didn't want to rise and meet the enemy head on like in those superhero movies and comics. I didn't want to face anyone in a fight or battle. I didn't want to save the world. What I wanted was for my sister and I to be home. To be safe. To be back to the time in our lives were all we had to do was worry about what to wear to school or keeping our grades up or going on our first real date. I had no ambition to be famous or a hero or a soldier or . . or . . or anything like that.

Maybe I'm a coward. If I am, is that okay? Is it okay to be terrified of dying? Is it okay to want to run away? Is it wrong to want to be back were everything is safe and warm? Is it?

"This is the one. Open it up."

My head turned towards the barred door of our cell; anticipating that Snow-Top and some of his goons had finally come for us. However, I was promptly surprised to discover that there was no one on the other side of the door. Instead, the voice seemed to be coming from the left end of the hallway. I turned back to cast Amy a questioning expression but found she had moved from her spot in the corner and was now approaching the cell door. Shoving my fear and confusion into some closet of my mind, I went over to the door so I could see what was going on.

From our current angle and position it was difficult to make out the scene, so I took a daring risk and wiggled my head through the bars. Now that my head was sticking out like a sore thumb (_it was probably not the best idea in the world_) so to speak, I could see three men at the far cell on the left that they were preparing to open.

"Come on you. The Doctor wants to evaluate on how well you've progressed since your last excersize."

The man who had spoken I recognized as the one who Snow-Top called "Mr. Carson". He wore a light tan suit, a pair of black dress shoes, and a white collared shirt. He looked to be about in his early to mid thirties, had dark brown hair cut in a well groomed style, and looked to be in relatively good shape. He seemed to lean more on the slightly heavy side but was still toned enough to put up a good fight. Not a good advisory to try to fight off. The two guards with him were dressed in matching black uniforms with black gun belts that housed a standard glock, a can of pepper spray, cuffs, a policeman's baton, and a taser. Hmm, chances of overwhelming the guards were dwindling into the single digits now.

Deciding that it was best to observe, I remained silent and watched. One of the guards produced a set of keys and proceeded to unlock the door. The other guard stood a cautious step back, his hand resting on the glock and twitching every few seconds as if the person in the cell would come at him at any moment. He seemed a bit edgy if you asked me. The one named Carson shook his head in annoyance and pushed the uneasy man into the now opened cell.

"Enough of that!" He barked, his gruff tone slicing through the air with such harshness I visibly flinched. "What? You scared of a little girl? How pathetic!"

My eyes widened in shock. _'Little girl?! There's a child here?! HERE? In this dark, cruel place?!'_

With extreme difficulty, I struggled to pull my skull back into the cell. After a few trys, I finally freed myself and began to massage the pain that now throbbed in my temples. To think, there could be a scared, frightened little girl five cells down from our own. Was there anyone else in there with her? Or was she alone? Did she have a blanket to keep her warm? Or was her cell as bare as ours? Did she have enough to eat? Was she starving? Thirsty? I glanced at my sister hoping I had heard wrong, but upon seeing the grim look set upon her face I knew it was a false hope. She had heard the same as I did. There was a little girl here and more than likely, she was scared and frightened.

The sound of the metal cell door slamming shut startled me so much I jumped. The sound of approaching footsteps alerted me to the hallway and I turned around just in time to see Carson leading the small group past the line of cells to the door at the far end of the corridor. Directly behind the suit was a small girl who had to be between the ages of ten and twelve. She kept her head high and stared straight ahead, paying no mind to the cells she passed.

The girl was thin, dirty, and wore a torn white T-shirt and a pair of tattered jeans that had a few patches in the legs. She had light tan skin which was bruised around the arms and one upon her right cheek. What had to have been beautiful blonde hair at one point was now the color of dirty dishwater, though a few bits of the yellow hue poked out from beneath the edges of her ears.

As the group began to pass our cell, for a moment, the girl paused and ever so slowly, turned to face us. The haunted, pleading look in her chocolate brown eyes was enough to paralyze me on the spot. I felt as if I had gazed upon a basilisk through a mirror or a pool of water, freezing me in time, turning me into a statue of flesh. Those haunted brown eyes! I felt as if all the happiness in the world had vanished (_though that would be a dementor_), leaving only despair and a coldness that nothing could warm. Then, whatever spell had fallen upon me, whatever connection that girl and I made, was broken when one of the guards behind her shoved her forward.

"Move girl!" He spat, spittle flying from his mouth.

The girl stumbled but did not fall. She caught herself and resumed her previous position, keeping her back straight and head forward. They moved on down the hall where I knew there to be a door that lead into a different part of the building. The door opened and then closed. And once again, we were left to silence.

Or so we thought.

"So they're testin' 'er again. Wish they leave the poor thang alone." Came a thick Cajun accent from a few cells down on the left. Judging by the voice, it sounded like an older female.

This was the first time (_that we were aware anyway_) that anyone that resided in the other cells had spoken. The first time we had heard voices that didn't belong to guards or Snow-Top. It was kinda scary to suddenly hear the other people in the cells speak because Amy and I had lived in silence for the past two weeks. We shared a glance in silent agreement to settle down, listen, and see what info we could gather about this place.

"Not likely." Replied a gruff, grumbling tone. This one, obviously male. "She's young and pliable; easily shaped. They're not just going to give up and leave her be. It would be a waste of potential."

This voice in particular sounded really close to our cell and if I had to guess, it would be the cell on our right.

"Don't talk like that!" A young woman's voice suddenly cried out in horror and disgust. "Why must you speak so frankly? We're talking about a child's life!"

The man in the cell next to us scoffed and let out a grunt of annoyance. "Because it's a fact woman! These bastards have one goal and one goal only! They don't give a damn about who we are or how old! They just want one thing. Power!"

The man snarled the last word with such hate and venom that even Amy showed signs of concern. Only, she expressed it by pursing her lips and clenching her hands into fists. I tucked my legs into a lotus position and stared hard at the metal floor. Power? These guys were after power? Well I suppose it should come to no surprise but still, it was like a plot out of a movie or something. Sure the world is full of power hungry people, just look at Hitler. But something about this seemed different. Somehow I don't see Snow-Top (_I'm going out on a limb here but he seems to me like the one in charge_) or any of his followers after a regime like the one Hitler tried to create.

"Still don' see why they need the girl ta do it." The Cajun woman mumbled irritably under her breath.

"Do what exactly?" I asked loudly, thoroughly curious by the conversation at hand and unable to quench said curiosity.

Everything went deathly quiet for a moment, then, after a second or two, the younger of the two women from the conversation spoke. "You're one of the new girls that was brought in a few weeks ago right?"

"Yeah." I drawled slowly, not quite following were exactly she was going with this. "What of it?"

More silence followed except for some minor whispering that I couldn't make out. This didn't settle all too well with Amy due to the fact she hates not being the one doing the whispering and possible plotting. Whispering in dark places and plotting some poor old fellow's untimely demise is more of_ her_ line of work. She hates it when she's possibly on the receiving end.

"We're right here you know!" My sister growled threateningly, gripping the bars tightly in her hands. "We're not going anywhere anytime soon so you may as well tell us! Out with it!"

Silence fell again before the man in the cell to our right finally spoke, "Trust me kid, you ain't gonna like what ya hear."

Amy rolled her eyes in frustration and annoyance, "No shit Sherlock! Never would've gussed! It hasn't exactly been a five star vacation around here, ya know!"

The man in the cell next to us let out a boisterous, though somewhat harsh, laugh. As if he hadn't done so in a very long time. "I like this one! She has some spunk in her!"

I wasn't quite sure if it was meant as a complement or if he was just being sarcastic, but one glance at my sister was all I needed. Amy was sitting back on her knees with this smug little expression on her face and grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Apparently, the guy meant what he said. If he didn't, Amy would've saw through it and probably would've shot a sarcastic remark of her own right back at him. I sighed, just great. Who knows what kind of friendship would develop between the two as a result of this? I didn't want to think about it.

"In any case," I started, trying to get the conversation back on track. "What's the deal with this place? And what's this 'testing' I heard someone mention? Is it for a disease of some sort or something?"

Several dry laughs and a couple of snorts immediately followed my questioning and it didn't take me long to figure out that I made a complete fool out of myself for asking such stupid questions. This facility probably wasn't used for battling cancer or TB. As my dad would say, 'Open mouth, insert foot.' I blushed, okay so I wasn't the brightest crayon in the box. I inwardly shrugged. What you gonna do?

"Okay," I said sheepishly still trying not to blush. "Sorry 'bout that. Wrong thing to say and all that, but seriously. What's up with this place?"

"First," The younger woman politely interrupted. "Before we get started, maybe we should start with some introductions?"

"Ba!" The older Cajun woman exclaimed. "What's it matta anyways? These kids won' last long. Wha's the point in getting' attached?"

I inwardly cringed. This woman's attitude was not putting our current position in a good light. Just what the hell was this place?

"Come now 'Rina," A new voice pipped up, this one considerably cheerful. "That's a bit harsh don'tcha think?"

The Cajun woman swore profusely in what I deemed was French before transferring back to English. "-Brat! How many times do ah have ta tell ya?! Don' call meh 'Rina!"

"Alright, that's enough!" The young woman from before scowled. "Tim don't egg her on like that. You know she hates it."

"Hey, just trying to lighten the mood here." The one named Tim reasoned, then when he thought no one was listening added: "Everyone's a critic."

At this, I couldn't help but laugh. This Tim did know how to try and lift the mood. Well, it made me feel better anyways. "Don't worry 'bout it Tim," I reassured him, still laughing. "My sister here hates it when I try to help the mood too."

I jammed a thumb in Amy's direction even though I knew no one could see it; all the cells where on one side of the hallway. She sent me a withering glare and slapped my hand down, shaking her head at me in a slow manner. I shrugged sheepishly and offered her a genuine smile. She just facepalmed in response.

"So," The man in the cell beside us was back. "The two of you are sisters, huh?"

"Unfortunately," Amy stated in her usual sarcastic, cool voice. "Yes. I have the misfortune to be related to this creature sitting next to me."

This time it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Oh yes, the horrors." I said deadpanned. "In any case, what were you saying about this place? We seem to keep running down rabbit trails."

**And that's where I'm going to end it. I know, not the best place but you have all been waiting long enough for something from me and this gives me more motive to write the next chapter. You already no my excuses so I won't go back into those. Just know that right now I'm tired and I miss my aunt. Nough said.**

**Now, I hope you all liked this chapter and that you feel like this story's pace is picking back up. If not, then it definatly will next chapter. I won't say, my lips are sealed but stuff will be explained in Ch 16. That's all for tonight folks and once again, sorry for no updating for a month. lots of love to you all! Good nite!**


	17. Explanation

**I'm back again! I know I left you all hanging last time, but not to worry! The second half is here awaiting your return. I hope you all enjoy this particular chapter and special thanks for all my reviewers who have stayed with me from the very begining! All of you are amazing! So without futher delay, Chapter Sixteen!**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Sixteen**

**I Do Believe that an Explaination is in Order**

**or**

**Can Things get any Worse?**

**Yes, Yes They Can**

_**Backwoods of North Carolina**_

_**The lab of Dr. Sevarius**_

_**Holding Cells**_

_**First person**_

_**Katie's POV**_

"That all depends," Stated the man in the cell next to us (_ I really need to find something else to call him_). "Do you want the long, drawn out, complicated story _or_ do you want the short, easy to understand version that would take at least ten minutes?"

"Um?" I threw a questioning look at my sister who just shrugged her shoulders in a nonchalant manner and held up two fingers. Taking that as her answer I replied, "Lets go with two."

"Good, saves me enough time to catch some z's later," The man retorted, sounding as if he had better things to do than explain just what the hell was going on. Um, self-absorbed much?

"Where to start? Where to start?" He murmured to himself. I could totally picture him scratching his head and pulling some weird face in intense concentration. "Well, I suppose it began the day he was fired."

"Who was fired?" I asked, my voice dropping in volume at the suspense.

"Sevarius." The man spat the guy's name out like he had something foul in his mouth. "The crazy bastard who has the lot of us locked up in the damn first place. He's the one running this freak show."

Still confused about this guy, I pressed for clarification. "But, why was he fired? What would cause him to take people and um, 'test' them for whatever reason?"

"Gee, I don't know," Amy interrupted, her voice dripping in heavy sarcasm. "Maybe being _fired_ had nothing to do with it?!"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, "Still doesn't answer the question of 'why'."

"Because," Continued the man in the cell beside us, who was starting to sound impatient with us. "Sevarius was currently working on a project that would change the way warfare's played in the world: Biological weapons."

"Biological weapons?" Amy sounded a cross between interested and confused. "Haven't we already invented that? I mean, Russia has diseases saved up from several decades ago. Smallpox, the Black Plague, etc, etc. Place them in a few cans, launch them into unsuspecting countries, _BAM!_ World domination! What's new?"

It was quiet for a moment before someone had the courage to speak up again.

"Us."

I stood there,m stalk still, my grip on the metal bars tightening. I tried to comprehend the words that were spoken to me; tried to make some sense out of this, but I couldn't. I just couldn't.

"W-what?" I stammered, my voice coming out all wrong.

"Start making some damn sense around here!" Amy demanded, her stress coming out in the form of anger and impatience. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

"Don' ya take tha' tone with us, ya lil' _garce_!" Spat the Cajun woman venomously, greatly emphasizing the last word which was clearly meant in offense.

Now, I personally don't know much French; just enough to know when I'm being insulted or when I really need to find a bathroom. Be that as it may, I knew the woman meant to seriously degrade my sister and I felt my stomach twist uncomfortably. I cautiously looked over to gauge my sister's reaction to the insult. Amy's face had gone beat red with rage and I practically saw the steam escaping from her ears.

"Ah ouais?!" Amy snarled, her own French slipping rapidly through her gritted teeth. "Eh bien, vous êtes une vieille!"

"Comment osez-vous!" The Cajun woman exclaimed angrily, thoroughly throwing herself into her native tongue. "Vous n'avez pas vos parents vous apprendre a respecter vos aines?!"

Okay, now we're getting into deep water here; I lost track after the woman said, 'How dare you!'. Everything else after that was just rambling that I couldn't understand or make out. Maybe I should have taken French in high school instead of Spanish. Oh well, too late now.

"C'est un pays libre!" Amy's rapid and harsh French came streaming out of her with no sense of control. She had thrown herself so close to the bars of the cell that her face was practically shoved up against it. "Je peux dire tout ce que l'enfer que je veux!"

"That is enough!" The young woman from before intervened, her voice surprisingly sharp. "The both of you need to calm those hot-blooded heads of yours or else the guards will come. I don't think any of us needs to draw anymore attention to ourselves than there already is."

The Cajun woman snorted something in French to the woman before falling silent. Amy angrily pushed herself away from the bars, her breathing coming in hard, ragged breaths as if she had just run a marathon. I sent her a worried expression but she returned it by glaring harshly at me. I flinched away from her and moved to the end of the cell door so as not to be in her personal space. The best thing to do when she's in that kind of a rage is just leave her alone and let her work it out on her own. Talking to her and trying to calm her down in a situation like this one would only result in a punch to the face or a kick to the stomach.

It was in my best interest to just ignore her and leave her be despite the fact that I wanted to give her a hug. Not that she would let me anyway, she hated it when I did or attempted to do so. I sighed inwardly as she stomped over to the far corner of the cell and sit down so as to glare harshly at the metal floor beneath her. I had no doubt that eventually, with all the glaring she'd been doing recently, bore a hole into it one of these days.

"That sister of yours has quite a temper I see."

I turned my attention back towards the bars of my cell as it was easier for my voice to travel out. I really wished I could actually _see_ these people. I hated talking to walls. I opened my mouth to reply but Amy cut me off.

"I'm not deaf you know! I can still hear you!"

Now _my_ patience was starting to wear thin. I wasn't in the mood to be dealing with her out of control anger. Keeping a level head in this was our only option and throwing all caution to the wind was only going to succeed in getting us killed. Not that I didn't understand why she was angry, I did. She was tired, bored, stressed, and having someone insult her in another language was not helping her in any way, shape, or form. But be that as it may, blowing a fuse and starting a shouting match with the other prisoners (_wow, that makes it seem like we're all in jail_) was probably not the best option for dealing with one's exceeding stress levels.

"You want my advise?" I asked rhetorically, completely serious. "Don't antagonize her. Trust me, it's more for her sake than yours."

I didn't need to look behind me to know that my sister was shooting daggers at the back of my skull; it was an instinct that I'd developed over time. Amy was not amused by my comment; not one little bit. I shrugged off the piercing look and focused more on conversation that got so rudely interrupted.

"You were saying?" I prompted.

"Oh yeah, where were we again?" Pondered the one named Tim. Who, for some reason, could picture tapping his chin and looking off to the side. "Oh! We were at the part were Spike was telling you that we're being used as weapons."

I raised a finger limply as if to ask the question that came into my head but then I thought better of it. It wasn't exactly what he said that was awkward, well okay, yes it was but it was the way he _said_ it that made it all the worse. Tim stated the question as if someone told him he won the lottery or that he just received a lifetime supply of toothpaste. Okay, maybe not the last one but you get the point. For a moment I didn't trust myself to speak for fear I would end up insulting someone, but eventually I snapped out of it.

"Sooo," I drawled slowly, trying to take all of this in. "Living weapons huh?"

"Pretty much," Stated the man in the cell beside us. Who, by the way, I figured was the one called Spike seeing as he was the one explaining this mad story.

"And how, pray tell, does _that_ work?" I demanded.

"It doesn't," Spike said deadpanned, as if he were discussing something along the lines of a school assignment. "Most of the time."

I felt my blood run cold at his words. This was not looking very positive.

"So what you're saying is . . ." I trailed off, not really wanting to say it.

"Most of us don't even make it through the first round."

I felt . . . numb. As if I was a little kid and someone told me my goldfish died. Okay, maybe a bad analogy but it's the best I got. I was too shocked to say or do anything. My mind just went . . blank. Like my mind was a computer and it just crashed. Okay, better analogy. Basically, we were going to be turned into living weapons by this Sevarius guy just because it was his main obsession for war that drove him and the fact that whatever division of the government he worked for probably thought he was a lune and fired him accordingly. Well, I most certainly thought my tiny (_no matter how insignificant it was_) roll in the universe was a bit more than that.

I was going to die because some guy wanted to make a human, bio-weapon and use me like a machine gun. I going to die as a tool for war. My _sister_ was going to die as a tool for war. These people in the cells next to mine were going to be used as tools for _war_!

_'Not if I have anything to do with it.'_ I thought darkly to myself.

No way was I just going to lay down and let some . . some weirdo mess around with me like I was a guinea pig! I was a human being for goodness sake! I had rights! Even if there was no chance in hell at getting out of here; no chance of leaving this place alive or worse, alive but turned into some . . some _tool_, was I just gonna sit around and yield! If I was going to go, I was going to go kicking and screaming! Take that you yellow bellied, son of a half troll, snaked pitted, son of a bitch!

"As anyone survived this 'testing'?" I questioned, steadying myself and trying to feel as determined as I wanted to. Which was better said than done I might add.

"A few," The Cajun woman was back. I guess she was done pouting and sulking. "Me fer instance, two doors down on yer left; Spike, next ta ya on the righ'; Tim, next ta Spike; Anne, next ta yer left, and the girl ya saw is Carmen. 'Er cell's next ta mine."

Now that I had an idea of who everybody was (_Spike being the man in the cell to our right, Tim being next to Spike, Anne must be the young woman with the polite and grammatically correct way of speaking, and the little girl being Carmen_), it was easier to put a name to voices. All except Cajun Woman.

"What about you?" I asked cautiously, not really wanting to get another bite of her sharp tongue. "What's your name?"

"Finally!" The Cajun exclaimed, her tone dripping in sarcasm. "Learned some manners have ya?"

"Don't make me bring out my sister again," I muttered irritably to myself.

What was with this woman?! Talk about . . well, I wasn't quite sure were to place her. Very full of herself perhaps? I supposed it'd have to do for the time being.

"I," She paused for full effect. "Am . . ."

But before she could announce her name, the door to our cell block flew open. Everyone went silent and it seemed as if no one even dared to move, let alone breath. Since I had been sitting right up against the cell door the whole time listening to the other cells occupants tell the story, I figured it would probably be a good idea to get away from the door as fast as possible. As footsteps began making their way across the cold tile of the hallway, I scrambled to my feet and launched myself next to Amy, who gave me a very disapproving look at the way I stuck the landing. I rolled my eyes and shook my head. There were more important things to be considering at the moment than the way I just threw myself across the room.

"I do hope these past few days have helped you sort out your position here." Snow-Top came to a halt in front of our cell, his deep greens eyes seemed to bypass my own blue ones and stare deep within the depths of my soul. "As you can see, there's no way for you to escape. Perhaps, you may even grow to like your new roll in life."

I couldn't break away from those eyes! I tried, I tried to look anywhere but at those strange, cold eyes but they just seemed to hold me in place. Like I was suddenly paralyzed and had no choice but to remain in the pose I currently held. My voice too, seemed suddenly lost for I couldn't even open my mouth to say two words. My jaw could not move and my tongue felt two times to large for my mouth. And the . . the _feeling_! Something about this visit was different, was . . _evil_. How I knew, how I discerned this I had not a fricking clue! But something was wrong, deeply, horribly _wrong_!

"Nothing to say?" The white-haired man arched an eyebrow in feinted surprise. "Well, I'm sure we will be able to remedy that."

A guard flanked Snow-Top on each side and each wore the same black uniform I had seen the other guards, the ones who took the girl away, wear. They were roughly the same build, strong, and were about the same height. Though the one of the left seemed about an inch or so taller than the other. The shorter of the two sported jet black hair cut in a military style and had a rather large nose, while the other had light honey color hair and his eyes seemed too close together. Why I felt that I had to take in every detail about them I wasn't sure, but if I had to guess it was the all that training from dad that was suddenly kicking in.

Analyze your enemy, take in every single detail you can because you never know what may be a weakness or what you can use against them. Height, weight, hearing, sight, smell, the way they walk, if they're right handed, the list could go on and on. All I knew was that the reason they killed mom and dad, took us from our home and our regular, normal lives, was that they were working on making human weapons. Using people like someone would a gun. We were not going to be treated as human beings, but as tools for their own twisted purpose. And you want to know the worst thing about it?

There was nothing in dad's training for how to escape and survive something like this. We were on our own. All we had was what dad had already given us and hopefully, _hopefully_, it would be enough. 'Cause if it wasn't, well, it was nice knowing you world.

**Alright people, how was that for an explanation? If things still seem a little hazy, no worries, more will be explored next time. Oh, before I forget, I'm pretty sure everyone knows who Snow-Top really is. Right? Well, if you haven't figured it out by now you will in the next chapter. In any case, thank you all for reading and please leave a nice little comment down there in the box below.**

**Please and thank you! :)**

**Translations from French to English**

Garce - bitchy girl

Oh, ouais? Eh, bien etes une vielle! - Oh, Yeah? Well, you are an old crone!

Comment osez-vous! - How dare you!

Vous n'avez pas vos parents vous apprendre a respecter vos aines! - Didn't your parents teach you to respect you elders?!


	18. A Year Later

**SORRY! I'm soo sorry! I know it's been a long time and I'm so sorry for that! Between Christmas and New Years and a bunch of personal issues, I haven't had much time to update. But, I'm back and with a brand new chapter! I hope this makes up for my time away. Oh! And for all of you who thought this story was going to slow . . . well, it's not anymore.**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**A Year Later**

_**Backwoods of North Carolina**_

_**The lab of Dr. Sevarius**_

_**Training Yard**_

_**Katie's POV**_

It was getting colder. I leaned against the crumbling brick of one of the four walls of The Yard and sighed. I wasn't looking forward to winter. The Yard was in the center of the compound with four brick buildings on each side, this gave everyone the feeling they'd been placed in a box and technically, they were. Each of the buildings had a purpose, for example, the one I was currently leaning up against was our cell block. The one directly in front of me was one of the three labs and with that being said, I guess I don't have to explain what the other two were. The structure I was leaning against in particular was two stories high and housed at least thirty of us. By 'us' I mean experiments, for that was what we were. Experiments, guinea pigs, lab rats, or whatever you want to call us. We ceased being human beings months ago and I hadn't been revered by my name for almost a full year. Instead I had a number: 142. Katie Spears ceased to exist except to one person of course: Amy, who was 153.

Over the course of the past months, Amy and I went through changes. Drastic changes. We both had been tortured and exposed to so much radiation, injections, mutations, and so forth that we began to change both physically and emotionally. We both had our DNA split with a specific animal and began to take on their physical features and abilities. Amy was now part Gray Wolf and I was part Clouded Leopard. Luckily, through a lot of concentrating and effort, we could control those physical features and retain our normal human appearances. However, if we wanted, we could slip fully into them and become a full wolf or leopard. That being said some of the non-physical traits come up anyway, such as enhanced hearing, smell, and sight. Amy no longer needed her glasses because of the wolf gene that was now a part of her.

"Hey Kitty, what's up?"

And that's exactly what I meant when I said I hadn't been called by my name for almost a year. A flash of agitation surged through me and I had to grit my teeth almost painfully so as not to say something I would regret. I _hated_ that nickname with a passion!

"What do you want Spike?" I kept my head down and my eyes closed, refusing to acknowledge his presence. I didn't even unfold my arms from their crossed position. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

Spike, who was roughly thirty years old and heavily muscled, made a slight noise that spoke 'yeah, right'. He had shaggy brown hair, hazel eyes, and looked like a fricking tank! He reminded me slightly of that strange, buff guy that Ben was talking to that fateful day. I shook my head. What was the point of remembering that now? Spike wasn't one for being ignored or rebuffed but neither me nor Amy or even Fox for that matter gave a flying leap. Despite his large size and 'abilities', he didn't phase any of us. I remained leaning against the wall and tried to block him out. He really was interrupting.

"Kitty Cat's got claws now, huh?" He asked incredulously, but there was a hint of impression in his voice. Just a hint though.

"Yeah? Got a problem with that?" I resisted the urge to let those nails out and show him just how sharp they truly were, but it wouldn't be in my best interest if I did. "Or, would you rather me revert back to that scared little girl that came here last June?"

I let the question hang, using it as a sort of threat but Spike only let out a roar of laughter.

"Come on Kitty," He chuckled, suddenly reaching over and giving my shoulder a slight shake. "I didn't mean anything by it."

"How many times do I have to tell you . . ?" I roughly shrugged off his shoulder, my eyes flashing open to reveal bright green, cat's eyes. Did I mention my eyes changed color when I was pissed? No? Oh, well, now you know. "Don't. Call. Me. _Kitty!_"

Spike narrowed his own eyes at me and took a step back, not because he was scared of me, rather it was because he wasn't interested in a fight right now. Tensions had been running high lately in response to several of 'us' not making it through testing the other day. The Cajun (_we never did find out what her name was_), a young boy who went by the name Flag, and an old man who's special ability was being able to imitate any voice he heard, died as a result of a testing gone too far. They just either couldn't handle the pain anymore or because there were complications. There were always complications.

I sighed and rubbed the top of my eyebrow in a last minute effort to relieve the stress there. "Sorry Spike, I haven't been feeling the best of late. It hasn't been a good week for a lot of us."

I shook my head in order to clear me emotions and closed my eyes. After taking some deep breaths, I opened them again and by the look on Spike's face, they had returned to their normal blue.

"Yeah, well . . ." He trailed off and threw his head back in order to look at the sky above us.

I suppose that's the best thing about The Yard; it's out in the fresh air. That is, if you look up anyway. It was large enough to have all sorts of equipment to use and even a couple of basketball goals and a few balls, but it was still very much like a prison yard. You had guards near the perimeter with high powered stun guns, you had electric cables running across the roofs of the buildings that were always on high, and there was an electric, net of cable spanning over our heads that prevented anyone who had the ability of flight from getting out.

And this is where all of us felt the _most_ free. If one lost privilege to The Yard, they would most certainly lose their minds just by being stuck in their cell the whole time. It was a prime reason no one picked fights, at least, most people. Spike and Amy were the ones who had the most fights under their belts. Amy had gotten into at least five and I didn't even want to know how many Spike had gotten into. There were some things best left alone.

"How was your test anyway?" I asked, trying to make small talk and not wanting there to be any bad blood between us. Some you couldn't get along with to save your life, but Spike in truth, was not one of them. "Didn't rough you up too much I hope?"

Spike turned his head in my direction and huffed irritably as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his torn jeans. "Went as expected. Shot me up with needles, placed those monitoring pads on me, and strapped me to a table. Nothing new."

"Yeah, probably better for you if it wasn't." I supplied, leaning back against the wall and settling down in my original position.

"Why'd you do that?" He questioned, settling beside me on my right. "Some kind of cat thing?"

"No," I answered slowly. "It's not a cat thing. I'm trying to listen."

There was silence for a moment, then . . .

"For what? Trying to find out what they're serving for breakfast tomorrow morning?"

I smirked, "Well, if I heard correctly it's going to be bread, cheese, and water." Then added, "But no, that's not it either."

Spike made an noise of impatience before asking, "Well, thanks for the update on breakfast but if that's not what you're listening for," He leaned in closer so he could whisper in my ear. "Then what?"

This time I smiled, he was going to be so floored I was doing this!

"Well, if you must know . . ." I dragged, trying to draw out the suspense.

"Just tell me damn it!" He hissed, his breath tickling me ear.

"That tickles Spike," I noted, letting a small giggle escape me. "Could you back up a bit? You're crowding me."

"You're such a . . ."

"Ass?" I snickered. "Yes, yes I am. Now, as I was saying . . I'm listening for guard shifts."

That stunned him alright. I could hear his breath hitch in his chest.

"You're listening for guard shifts?!" He nearly shouted it, he was so surprised.

"Shhh!" I reached up and clamped a hand over his mouth to silence him. "Do you want those creeps to hear? Yes! I'm keeping track of which guards are being posted where, what time they switch out, and so on. You never know, it could come in handy sometime."

"Well, I'll be damned," A rather large grin spread across Spike's face, he looked rather impressed. "And here I thought you were just the type who kept their head down and brown nosed the guards."

"Well," I returned his grin. "I had a pretty good teacher. Amy's not one to let me sit around worrying the whole time."

"Ha!" He laughed goodheartedly. "Yeah, Wolf's not one to waste time or talent. I swear, the two of you together are a force to be reckoned with. I really hope I never have to face the two of you together in a sparring session. As good as I am, I don't think I'd stand a chance."

"I don't know Spike," I shook my head in disagreement. "There's a reason why they call you that. I don't think we can do much against those quills of yours." Then I looked around to make sure no one else was listening, "Not without revealing what we _really_ can do. The both of us have made extra precautions to keep everything else from Sevarius."

Spike's gazed suddenly harden and he took me firmly by the shoulders. "Cat, listen to me. You're taking a big risk with this hidden power stuff. Both you _and_ Wolf. If you get caught . . ."

I reached over his arms and placed my hands gently on his writs. "Thanks for the concern Spike, but that's not gonna happen. Am and I are determined that we can hide it long enough to . . ."

_BRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNGGGGG!_

Spike and I whirled around in the direction of the sound, not sure what to prepare for. But when we found that it was only the bell signaling that we were to return to our cells, we both let out a large sigh of relief. At least it wasn't a lock-down signal or worse. I shuddered, I didn't want to think about worse.

"Guess it's time to head back," Spike shrugged nonchalantly and took a couple of lazy steps towards the line that was beginning to form off two our left.

I sighed as all the guards went around The Yard and started pushing 'us' towards the line. I resisted the urge to snarl at one of the guards in particular when he struck one of 'us' in the back of the head with the butt of his gun. I hated the way they treated 'us'. It was like the moment we began to change and mutate was the moment we ceased being actual human beings. It was infuriating for me, I never felt so angry in my entire life! And that was saying something cause I never get angry,. Annoyed yes, irritated yes, and impatient yes. Angry? No, not often.

"I hate them Spike," I growled lowly as I followed him into the line that would take us to our cell block. "I never thought I could actually hate anyone until now, but I do. I hate them!"

"Join the club, Cat," He shot back, his hands slipping back into his pockets again. "We all do and most of us have hated them far longer than you have."

"So," I raised an eyebrow at him, even though his back was to me and he couldn't see it. "I'm Cat now, huh?"

"Would you rather me go back to calling you Kitty?"

"Cat will do just fine, thanks."

A guard noticed our exchanged and came up to us just as we were turning down a hallway that led into our portion of the cell block.

"Hey you two!" The guard was tall. I hated the tall ones. "No talking in line!"

"Careful, Mack!" Another guard came up beside the other one and put a warning hand on his buddy's shoulder. "Those are subjects 142 and 175! Do you want a quill to the face or a set of claws to your kneecaps?"

I resisted to retort to the kneecap insult. Why the hell did everyone think I couldn't aim higher that a person's knees? I may be just over four feet and a half, but that's hardly a justifiable reason to crack knee insults at me. Besides, dad did it to me all the time. From him, it was okay and tolerable, from them? I would have liked nothing better than to rip out the dude's jugular. It would add some nice color to this damn bleak place.

"Don't do anything you're likely to regret, Cat." Spike warned softly, reaching back and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. "They're only looking to get a ruse out of you. Don't give them the satisfaction."

I gritted my teeth and tried to rein in my anger. I hated the emotions that came with being a wild cat sometimes, it made it harder to control my emotions. Though, I was certainly a hell of a lot better than I was when I first 'turned'.

"You're right." I was able to sound relatively normal again. "Let's go. We're holding up the line."

We followed the hallways down to our block and did our best to ignore all the guards posted along the way. I didn't like the way they looked at us. As if we were nothing but the dirt under their shiny black boots. I shifted my focus to what Amy and I had planned for tonight, it was going to be a long, hard road, but I believed it could be done. Ams did too and that made it all the more possible. If she thought it could be done, then more than likely, it could.

Eventually, we made it to our block and our cells were opened. The thing I noticed about our cells, they had to be opened manually. There was no automatic open or close device or program to them. Just another strike against these jackasses. It was only going to work in our favor when the time came. I stepped into my cell and was pleased to see that my sister was already there. As the door shut behind me I walked to the back of the cell and sat beside her.

"So," I started, settling myself down and getting comfortable. "How was your day? Did we play nice with the stupid, brainless gits?"

"Well, you know how it is," Amy snorted in response and folded her hands behind her head. "Those guards can't tell which way is up half the time. It was easy to sneak into the Communications Office and steal this."

She remove one of her hands from behind her head and plunged in deep into her right pocket, revealing what had to be a map of the whole facility. Not just a map either, but a set of blueprints!

"Nice," I commented, thoroughly impressed even though I shouldn't be surprised. Amy always did have a knack for taking things that didn't belong to her without being noticed. "I think this is our biggest asset so far."

"I sure hope so," She stated as she rolled her eyes at me. "It wasn't exactly that easy, I almost was walked in on."

I didn't say anything, just looked over the map and began memorizing everything there was to it. I wasn't going to berate her for taking risks, this whole place was full of them. Being the big sister and scolding her wasn't going to help our cause, but, I was going to advise her to use caution. I just hoped that she didn't take _that_ the wrong way. Then I noticed something about a room in one of the labs. Something that may prove useful.

"Got a question for you Ams."

"Yeah, what?" She asked, crouching over to see what I was looking at.

I placed the map, full spread, flat on the floor and pointed to a room in the lab that was across from the cell block. The room was labeled: Chemical Supplies and it was fairly large.

"What do you think they keep in there?"

"Chemicals. Obviously." She stated, sarcasm dripping her her voice. "Honestly Kate, you sure you didn't lose half your brain in last weeks testing?" She paused, then added as an afterthought. "Wait, that would imply you had a brain to begin with."

I was not in the mood for her to be throwing brain jokes around. "I'm being serious here. I know chemicals are kept there, but not what _kind_." I looked back at the map and rubbed my chin thoughtfully. "Let's see if the other two have rooms like that."

I checked and so they did. A lightbulb suddenly went off in my head and I looked over at Amy and smiled mischievously. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

Amy stared at me blankly. "Quite frankly? I don't think I want to think what you're thinking."

I glared at her and gave her a pointed look. "Boom-boom?"

Realization flashed through her eyes at what I was getting at and her face lit up like a child at Christmas. "Boom-boom?" She asked hopefully, her hands coming up in a prayer.

I smiled encouragingly. "Yep, boom-boom."

"Amy _love_ boom-boom," My sister rubbed her hands together and grinned in her Evil Super Genius grin. I was so used to this look that it no longer scared the crap out of me.

I rolled my eyes at how excited she was at blowing something up, but I was too as a matter of fact. "Not until we get everything else figured out. Now, I heard the guards talking about their shift schedules in The Yard today. You have a pencil or something?"

Amy withdrew a pen from her back pocket. "Took it out of the office along with the map. Thought you would need it."

"Perfect!" I took the pen and scribbled down of the side of the map all the guard shifts I knew about. "This is all I know, but I was hoping you would be able to sneak into the locker room and find the rest of them."

This time it was Amy's turn to give me a pointed look. "The only reason I was able to get the map in the _first place_ was because I fooled one of them into thinking I had a stomachache and needed some tums. Then I got in, got out. The locker rooms is a completely different story Kate! At least the Comm room is _in_ the cell block!"

I facepalmed. I had forgotten about that.

"Alright, alright!" I sighed, having no clue what to do next. "I guess we'll just have to find another way then."

"Not necessarily," Amy was looking hard at the map and had the tip of her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. She had her deeply concentrated look on. "We could see if we could get someone else to do it."

"Like who?" I asked, getting very interested.

"A guard for example," Amy supplied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"A guard." I said it more like a statement and less like a question.

"Yep."

I was steadily losing my patience with this. "And how in the name of all that is holy, is a _guard_ going to find us the rest of the shift schedules?!"

Amy shot me a withering look and I flinched. "Well if _someone_ would shut up long enough, I'd tell you."

"Ah, haha." I laughed nervously and put my hands up in peace. "Please continue."

She sent me another glare before continuing her train of thought. "I was thinking that I could use _that_ ability."

"Wait a minute!" My eyes widened in shock. "You want to use _that_ on one of them?!"

"It's not like you came up with anything!" She retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Absolutely not!" I narrowed my eyes at her. "It's one thing to fool a guard into believing you need a couple of tums, but it's a completely different story when you take away their free will!"

Amy's irritated glare turned into an expression of anger and argued, "Then what Kate?! You're the brilliant strategist, you come up with a solution! At least _I'm_ actually contributing around here!"

I had just about enough of her attitude, "I don't yet, but I know for sure that we're not taking away someone's free will! I don't care how nasty or degrading these assholes have been to us, if we take away their free will then we'd be just as bad as them! And like hell I'm sinking to their level!"

"Fine!" Amy grumbled, not liking the fact I put the smackdown on her idea. "Then you find another way!"

"I will," I confirmed steadily, reining in my temper.

I had no idea how, but I was going to find a way to get those schedules without having to take away a person's free will. And even if I couldn't get them, then I'd just have to work without them. It would make the plan a lot harder to work out, but it was doable. One way or the other, we were going to break the hell out of here. We had spent enough of our life wasted away here, enough of seeing Sevarius treating humans as nothing more than living weapons. We played our part, we stayed long enough to learn how to control the powers and abilities we gained from this. Now, it was time to strike back. It was time to turn the tide and show Sevarius what he truly created.

We are not weapons, we are not numbers, and we are not a means to someone else's war! We. Are. HUMAN! And it was about time we got our humanity back.

**Soo? How was it? Now, we're getting to the part I've been wanting to get to for a long while. I know I seemed to have speeded up a lot, but in all honesty, I wasn't sure everyone wanted to see the girls being experimented on and such. Plus, it would take up so much time and to drag that out for a year . . . I think I've spent enough time on it. Now we're going to see how the girls break out of this death hole!**

**Please leave a nic review in the box below and I'll get back with a new chapter soon.**


	19. Of Doubt and Trust

**Hello! I'm back again! I know, it's been quite a while! I'm so sorry for not updating sooner and faster, but in all honesty, some of my muse for this story ran out on me. Luckily thanks to my sister, who's changed her penname to Sunstreaker's Charge, who has saved me by coming up with wonderful ideas and plot develpments that have rekindled this story! **

**Now, things are going to get complicated as far as the girls powers (**whose by the way, I came up with in a dream. Unfortunately, the dream didn't really come with flat out explainations of some of them so I had to do a lot of creative thinking**). The girls kept their really devestating powers from Sevarius so he didn't exploit them more than he already was. I know the past chapter wasn't a great as I would have liked it but, I thought doing it this way was better than drawling out a year of torture and pain. Plus, my sister thought it was going a bit slow.**

**So here we are. Read on!**

"Talking"

_'Thinking'_

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Of Doubt and Trust**

_**The Lab of Dr. Sevarius **_

_**Cell Block**_

_**First Person**_

_**Katie's POV**_

_**Later that night . . .**_

I couldn't sleep. Instead, I found myself staring up at the all too familiar dark green, metal ceiling wondering if we could pull it off. We had been planning this thing for at least a month now and still I had my doubts. I knew we had to try, but what happened if we failed? How many of us would live through it? How many of us would never see another day? Why did Amy and the others choose _me_of all people to take charge of the operation in the first place? Amy was a better leader, she had the brains. She was the smart one. She had an air that commanded respect and authority. She was strong inside and out. Me? What was I?

Clumsy. Talkative. I was never serious unless the situation really called for it. I was always cracking jokes to make the tension between others dissipate. I chuckled to myself at that one. I sounded like Tim. No. I wasn't a leader. How could I be? Everyone else around here was taller than I was. How could I get others to listen to me if I was the shortest person around? How could I stand and direct others in what they needed to do? I couldn't order people around, that was Amy! That was dad!

Dad . . . He could do this. He could take command and guide the others out of this hellhole. Dad could give off an air of command and suddenly, people would listen to him. But, he wasn't here. Here in this forsaken place or here in general. He and mom were . . .

I struggled to hold back the tears that threaten to prick at the corners of my eyes. I couldn't do this! I couldn't lead the some thirty people out of here and guarantee their safety! I couldn't tell them to follow me to their deaths! Because that's exactly what we were doing! We were going to fight back and in every battle, every war, there was always several that never made it out. But then . . what did we have to loose? Our lives? To some of us, it would be a blessing.

Some of the changes left others with permanent physical features that were irreversible. Fox, a woman in her late twenties, early thirties, who was brought here about two years ago, was a prime example. The experiments inflicted upon her left her with a pair of fox ears and a matching tail, but unlike Amy and I, could not transform fully into a human or a fox. She was more or less stuck in the middle of the two forms. She would never be able to step back into 'normal' society without causing mass panic. And so, like many others, the results of our pain became our curse.

None of us could, or would be able, to be 'normal' ever again; either physically, emotionally, or mentally. We were no longer the people we once were. Not even me.

I noticed that I became more distant, even with Amy. The first month or so, I would wake up with nightmares, screaming at the top of my lungs for mom or dad. She was always there to help me through them and I was there for hers. When she had them, which, was very rare. But as the weeks turned into months, I stopped waking her up to comfort me. Instead, I just lay there in a cold sweat and tried to shake it off. I tried telling myself I had to be strong for myself and that I couldn't keep leaning on my sister for reassurance. She needed her sleep, needed the comfort of her own mind.

I was becoming a different person and that, like many other things, scared me. Now I was just as cynical and sarcastic as Amy was. I was loosing my positive outlook, I was questioning myself, I was loosing confidence, and I was finding it harder and harder to see that silver lining. I just grew to accept things as they were. I didn't dream like I used to, instead I just lapsed into unconsciousness. A big black place of nothing. It wasn't really sleep I don't think. No nightmares, but no pleasant dreams either. Just, nothing.

I sighed, I was becoming depressed and I knew it. I hated it, this hopelessness that was seeping into every crevice of my body and spirit. Some days I would be my old self, the happy-go-lucky Katie who could smile no matter what sticky situation she was in. And then, other days I was this new depressed Katie. A Katie who didn't see the point of struggling anymore, a Katie that just wanted to give up and sink into the blackness like all the others. A Katie who had completely given up. That really scared me! I wasn't one who gave up. Usually, even when the odds were against me, I fought with everything I had. I fought back! But now, I was loosing that fighting spirit. What exactly did I have left to fight for?

A movement off to my left jerked me from my thoughts. Amy rolled over onto her side and was now facing me, her face calm and relaxed in sleep. I smiled to myself. She looked so at peace, like she was ten again and we were just having a sleepover in my room like we used to; especially during thunderstorms. Neither of us liked storms when we were younger. We would end up piling in one or the others room just so we would feel safe. It was hard at times because we had a set of twin beds and it was quite difficult to fit the two of us in one of those beds. Just watching Amy as she slept gave me a sense of peace I haven't felt in a long time. Perhaps, there was a scrap of hope left. Even if it was small a small hope. We wouldn't know unless we took that chance.

I sat upright and folded my legs Indian Style. I gazed out through the bars of our cell and out a tiny window just across the way. Through it, the moon shined a beautiful silver, casting a gentle light over the thick, snow-covered, wooden landscape that lay not far from the compound. It had to be . . what? Four, five hundred feet? If we could just reach the safety of the forest . . .

_'Then what?'_

I grimaced as the question suddenly appeared in my mind. Why couldn't it leave me to my own thoughts, even for a moments peace?

_'What do you want Kaze?' _I shot back, not in the mood to be conversing with my new found mental companion.

_'Touchy tonight, are we?'_

I took a deep breath and tried to find the patience to handle the over-energetic spirit. _'I have a lot on my plate right now, alright? I'm not in the mood for you breaking into my mind whenever the hell you want.'_

_'Awww! But talking to you is such fun! At least _you_ can talk back, most other humans just ignore me!'_

_ 'I wonder why,' _I thought back, not thinking my words through clearly enough.

_'So disrespectful! I wonder where the _real_ Katie went? At least _she _had courtesy.' _

I groaned and buried my hand in my hands. It was times like these that I wasn't too thrilled with being able to speak to the Spirit of Air. Personally, I wasn't sure how I was able to in the first place! It just happened one day about a month ago when I went through another bout of testing. As per usual, after the experiment was over, I was thrown (_I say thrown because the pain and stress was so great that it knocked me unconscious_) back into my cell and about an hour or so later, as I was regaining consciousness (_if you could call it that. I was so disorientated that I wasn't sure if I was awake or in another nightmare_), I heard a voice.

Now, the freaky thing about this voice was that I wasn't hearing it with my ears. I heard it _inside_ my _mind! _Like when you're thinking to yourself (_don't look at me like that! I know you do!_) 'how in the world am I gonna pass that math test tomorrow' or 'I wonder what mom is making for dinner'. Everyone thinks to themselves inside their mind and everyone hears their own voice talking back. I, on the other hand, had an _extra_ voice. One that was not my own.

It took me a while to figure out that the voice I was hearing, I wasn't actually _hearing_. It was more or less _bypassing_ my ears all together and going directly into my head. Weird, I know. Just roll with it. I had to. Anyway, so eventually this voice (_very talkative by the the way, always had something to say. Reminds you of anyone?_) introduced itself as the Spirit of Air; which is one of the four Spirits that make up the four elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and, of course, Air.

These Spirits actually _are_ the four elements! The only way I can describe them in a way that makes sense is that they are the _souls_ of the four elements. The elements can be manipulated by their respected Spirit and only by their respected Spirit. For example, Water cannot cannot control fire because it is not Fire. These Spirits are the basis of nature as a whole and with that being said, they don't have a gender. They are neither male or female. They just _are_.

Anyway, being able to suddenly communicate with the Spirit of Air really freaked the hell out of me. When I finally came to the conclusion that I was, in fact, _not_ losing my sanity, I asked it why I was suddenly able to hear and talk to it in the first place. Air, or Kaze (literally _wind_ in Japanese) as I like to call it, explained that humans, at one time, _could_ communicate with the four Spirits long ago and many of them still do. However, those few are mostly Native Americans who still have their bond with the earth. Most of us had abandoned that kind of Spirituality a long time ago and as our technology advanced, we became dependent on science to find the answers to our questions. Most of our bonds either, no longer exist, or are very, very thin.

But that didn't explain why I suddenly _could_ hear Kaze, especially after nearly twenty years of my life never hearing the wind speak to me before.

Kaze explained that my basic connection with the earth (_which everyone is tied to, but not everyone's bond is strong enough to establish a link with the Spirits_) was strengthened and enhanced during the recent experiment performed on me by Sevarius. So, in a nutshell, because of Sevarius messing around with not only my genetic makeup, but also messing around with my spirit, he strengthened this bond I apparently had with the earth and now I could hear Air talking to me inside my head. The soul cannot be 'messed around with' in a literal sense as Kaze further explained when I asked if my soul was affected by the test.

Okay, so that cleared up why I could suddenly talk to the Spirit of Air. However, what it didn't explain was why I could only talk to_ Air_. Why couldn't I speak to Earth or Water?

Again, Kaze explained that while if a person's bond was strong enough that he or she _could_ establish contact with the Spirits, it was the _Spirits_ choice of whether or not to establish contact with the _person_. And then, only one Spirit would do so. The reason being was, a Spirit had to decide if that person was right _personality wise_ to be in an agreement with each other. In other words, they have to be compatible.

It was like some matchmaker site online linking you up with the element you were best suited with. Oookay. Just a little bit creepy.

And so, this brings me to were I currently am now. Talking to Kaze while trying to formulate a plan to get thirty some people out of this death hole and to freedom. Or at least, someplace other than here. Anywhere was better than here. Except Antarctica. I don't think Antarctica is the ideal place to escape to. Or the Sahara Desert. Another place that wasn't a better choice. Then again, both of them are in different parts of the world and no one here would be able to get there. Or, at least, I hope not. I _think_ we're still in America.

_'Hey Kaze, what continent am I on?' _I asked, curious as to why I hadn't thought of asking this sooner.

The Spirit of Air huffed in frustration and made a noise that sounded kinda like: You can't be serious. _'What do you mean 'what continent'? North America of course! Honestly girl, when I chose you I thought you had more intelligence than this!'_

_'Well, excuuuuse me! If you haven't noticed, I haven't exactly been out much in the past year!' _I retorted, my voice dripping in heavy sarcasm.

_'True. I suppose you are not to blame for your current predicament.'_

_'Thank you.' _I grumbled, still not pleased with having my thoughts interrupted.

But, on the plus side, I did find out that we were still States side. At least we were in America somewhere. Wait. Kaze said North America. That includes . . .

_Wait a minute! North America?! WHERE in North America?! Am I in Canada or something?! I better not be in MEXICO! I don't wanna eat cats!'_

_'Good heaven's girl! You asked which _continent_! Not which country! Next time, be more specific with your questions!'_

_'Alright, alright, alright! Okay, which _country_ in North America then?' _I emphasized the word country so that Kaze would get the point across and not have me going in circles.

_ 'America.'_

_ 'Right then, I'll just . . . wait . . America?'_

_'Yes. America. You know? The U.S.A? The Land of the Free? Home of the Brave? Honestly girl, I'm beginning to worry about the state of your mental health. Are you sure that man has done you permanent harm?'_

_'You know, I really can't say for sure Kaze. I still have nightmares, I'm withdrawn all of a sudden, I don't like being alone and yet I don't want to intrude on Amy more than I have to because her emotions are on edge. She snaps at me most times and that's on a _good_ day. I've become more cynical and sarcastic. I probably _am_ damaged. Not to say I wasn't before I came here, but I would say I most definably am now.'_

There was silence for a good long while before Kaze finally spoke again.

_'I wouldn't go so far as to say that, girl. You have been through quite a lot, that's true. But, I wouldn't say you're _completely_ damaged. You most certainly are _not_ the person you were before, but I believe that you have learned how to survive in some pretty intense situations. That doesn't make you damaged, it makes you _brave_.'_

_'I don't feel brave Kaze. I haven't been more terrified in my entire life. Especially after what everyone else is expecting of me. I don't think I can do it.'_

_'Yes, I believe you can Katie. Never before in my existence, mind you, I've been around for a very, _very_ long time, have I met someone with the qualities of a great leader as you.'_

I laughed dryly. That was one I hadn't heard before. Me? Qualities of a great leader? What the Whiskey Tango Foxtrot was that supposed to mean? This was me we were talking about! Hyper, clumsy, never shuts up, absent minded, overly dramatic, wears her heart on her sleeve, never has a clue, head in the clouds, KATIE! Is THAT what people want in a leader?! Hell, I wouldn't even trust MYSELF to lead a group of mice into a cheese factory!

_'Really? And what about YOU? I think YOUR the one who's mental health we should worry for. No one else before all this ever believed I could be a leader, what makes you think that's changed? I think the only reason Amy suggested that I take the role in the first place was so she could have someone else to blame when her escape iidea fail. Let's face the hard truth Kaze, I'll get us all killed and you know it.'_

_'Why is it that you never have enough confidence in yourself? Why do you always see the bad? Besides, many of those qualities you just named are your _strengths_.'_

I felt something inside me finally snap and then all the pent up emotion I'd been feeling over the past year just came tumbling out. Plus, Kaze had again peeked inside my head when I was trying to keep things out of its reach!

_'EXACTLY KAZE! Those are my GOOD qualities! What kind of leader is clumsy?! What kind of leader doesn't know how to restrain her emotions?! What kind of leader always has her head in the clouds, or can't get a clue, or acts before she thinks?! How are ANY of those qualities of a GREAT leader?!'_

Again, Kaze went silent. It was several long, painstakingly minutes before the Spirit of Air spoke to me. And when it did, it was quiet and yet, there was steel in its tone that commanded me to listen to what it had to say.

_'Have you ever thought that a leader who shows emotion, is not weak? Because it only shows you care deeply for those under you, that those you lead mean something. That they are not just bodies or soldiers that can be replaced by another. That each of them have loved ones, family, and friends. That each of them is a human being! You, Katie, see this clearer than anyone else. You see this poor souls as _humans_ still and you would gladly sacrifice your own life in order to protect them. You have the patience to deal with Spikes roughness, Fox's stubbornness, Tim's childlike manner, and your sister's impatience. You have compassion, loyalty, and you have a good sense of right and wrong.'_

I lay there, dumbstruck, still staring up at the dark green ceiling and trying to absorb everything Kaze was telling me. Was the Spirit of Air serious? Was that really who I was at heart? Or, was it just telling me all this to make me feel better? People had done it before. Why would now be any different?

_'ARE YOU TRULY THAT _BLIND_?!'_

The sheer anger that resounded in Kaze's voice startled me so badly, I jerked upright and shrunk in on myself like a child being scolded. I whimpered pitifully and ducked my head from view even though Kaze was the Spirit of Air. It could see me no matter what I did. That was because Kaze was air! Everywhere I turned, it would be there.

_'Have you learned NOTHING?! This place has dealt you cold, hard truth! It has not given you falsehoods or comfort! It has not coddled you like a child! NO! It has given you a taste of _real_ horror! It has shone you how truly evil humans can be! I do not say these things to give you a false sense of security! I tell you these things because they ARE true! Stop feeling sorry for yourself and USE those gifts! USE them to lead these people out of this place! USE them to save those whose lives had yet to reach their full potential! _

_'But I don't know how!' _I screamed back in fear and desperation. _'How can you be so sure I'm the one to lead them?!'_

_'A wise being once said: "Fate rarely calls us at a moment of our choosing." Katie, Fate is calling for YOU to protect and guide these lost and forgotten people. Fate is asking for YOU to step up and make a choice. The question is . . . will you accept it or will you flee from it?'_

I sat there so confused and afraid. Was Kaze serious about all this? Was Fate really knocking at my door telling me that ME, of all people, was the one needed to make such a choice? Were these people really in need of MY judgment, MY leadership, and MY protection? Did they really need . . . me? And more importantly, who was the one who said "Fate rarely calls us . . ?"

_'Wait Kaze. Who's the wise being anyway? Is it God?'_

_ 'No, girl. A being who, if you play this battle correctly, you may meet one day soon.'_

_ 'Wait! I don't understand! Kaze . . . !'_

_ 'You need rest. Tomorrow will be a long day for you.'_

_ 'KAZE!'_

But even as the Spirit's name left my lips, I could already feel its presence leave my mind. I was alone with my own thoughts again. I sighed. That Spirit always did make things complicated. But perhaps, it was right. Maybe I should just accept the fact that I've been made leader of this strange band of people. I've grown to know most of them and of those most I've become close friends with just about all of them. Maybe, they looked to me because those qualities that Kaze mentioned are real. They were really there. I just have to have faith in myself and in those around me.

Together, we would get through this. Together, we would win back our freedom, our humanity, and hopefully, some form of normalcy again. But, if I was to lead them, I was going to need a good Lieutenant.

"Hey Amy! Wake up! Where'd you put the blueprints? I got an idea!"


	20. The Search Continues

**Hello everyone! Before I introduce our new chapter, there are some things I want to clear up about the story.**

**One: As you know, I've changed the rating. This is because I've noticed that I'd used some pretty foul language and I rather not have my story taken down because of the use of extreme profanity. **

**Two: Do to me changing the rating to M, I've also noticed that my views on the story have dropped CONSITERABLY. I'm not quite sure why but I may have an idea. **

**I think that when people see the romace category and the rating M, they think "Oh no! It's going to be full of sex and lemons and I don't want to read that stuff!"**

**This story is a romance, but it's not BECAUSE of the romance that I've changed the rating. As far as the romance goes, the intiment it's going to be is T. **

**Now, the lanuage itself is NOT the only reason the story's rating has changed. It's also because of the violence and the mental abuse and phycological torture that the girls have gone through. Yeah I know, you haven't seen much of it _now, _but you will see it in flashbacks. ****The reason behind this is because I didn't want to bore everyone with drawing out a year's worth of violence and torture. Plus, the upcoming battle between the experiments and Sevarius is going to be pretty gory. People will DIE. And not in very pleasent ways either.**

**Now, if any of you believe that I have put this story under the wrong category, then please TELL ME! **

**Chapter Twenty**

**The Search Continues**

_**Washington D.C.**_

_**N.E.S.T. Base**_

_**Office Hanger of Optimus Prime and Colonel William Lennox**_

_**Third Person**_

"I'm sorry sir," The soldier reported from his place at ease, several paces from the Colonel's desk and displaying perfect military baring. "The scout we followed up on had no reliable intel to give us. It appears that none of the Decepticons have any knowledge of the missing girls."

Lennox, who was seated professionally behind his desk in his office, inwardly sighed at the soldier's report. He knew it had been a small hope, but it was a hope nonetheless. After months of searching, they still haven't found any sign of Katie or Amy. It seemed as if the two girls had fallen off the face of the planet itself. This report, along with all the others, only appeared to solidify this growing realization. Will could only come to the heartwrenching conclusion that the Cons did _not_ in fact, have the girls in their clutches. Or, even worse, they did have them at one time, but then disposed of them once the girls ran out of usefulness.

"Thank you Airman Young, that will be all."

The soldier saluted quickly, then exited the office as briskly and sharply as he had come. Once the door to the office clicked shut, Will slumped over in his chair and placed his elbow on the desk so he could rest his head in his hand. This was even worse news. Now, instead of possibly having two innocent girls in the hands of the Decepticons, he had two girls with minimal secure information missing out in God knows where! Neither was very encouraging to say the least. He was nearing a dead end and if he didn't find any evidence that suggested the Cons have (_or had_) the girls he would have to figure out where else they could be. And if the Cons didn't have them, then Will could only come to the conclusion that they were taken by humans.

Ratchet may actually have been onto something several months ago.

Lennox groaned. He did not need an angry Chief Medical Officer telling him "I told you so" on his already full plate. Besides tracking down random Decepticon scouts and after trailing leads that lead to nowhere, he also had Galloway and Charlotte Mearing on his ass asking what in the hell he and his giant, metal soldiers were doing. Both Optimus and Will had decided that it was better to keep this particular situation under wraps and not to reveal any details to the lesion or the Director of National Intelligence. Though Sam, who was now their top lesion, was in on the search as well and keeping a look out for the girls as far as the black market was concerned. This was just a precaution in case they were being smuggled to any part of the world. But so far, every report Sam had given them was the same. Nothing to report.

Though Will had to admit, _that_ he was glad for.

"Knock, knock." Came a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

The Colonel sighed, he really needed some sort of good news. "Enter."

The door promptly swung open to reveal Robert Epps, Chief Master Sargent, holding a big, pink box of what appeared to be . . . doughnuts. Two ceramic mugs were clutched in his free hand and a pot of what smelled like really strong, black coffee was balanced rather precariously on top of the sweet pastry box.

"Thought you could use a pick-me-up." Grunted Rob as he struggled to close the door with his combat boot.

Will gave a dry laugh as he leaned back in his chair to observe his friend. "I need more than that but, I'll settle for the show."

After another minute of fighting with the door, Epps was able to shut it without toppling the coffee pot and squishing the doughnuts that lay underneath of it.

"Yeah, Yeah," He mumbled jokingly under his breath as he set the supplies down on Will's desk and began to pour out the coffee. "Laugh it up will ya. You try it sometime."

"No thanks." Lennox replied, taking the first mug and raising it to his lips. "That's what you're here for. Ah, this hits the spot. You don't know how much I needed this."

Epps gave a harrumph before taking a swig from his own mug. "Yeah, I can. That's why I brought it."

Will gave another sigh, then set the mug down and massaged his temples. "Thanks. I feel as if we're no closer to finding those girls since I first saw the news cast report. It's been a year Rob, do you think there's any chance that they're . . ."

He trailed off. This was the topic of conversation he'd been avoiding for the past two months. He didn't want to think, much less believe, that Katie and Amy could be dead. He knew Cons didn't keep prisoners, much less prisoners who didn't have much to offer in the first place. But still, his thoughts kept wandering to his own little girl. Annabelle was now nine and a half and for some reason, these two girls kept pulling at him. Driving him to not give up and to keep searching. He knew that if it was anyone else, they would have given up months ago. So, why didn't he? Why _wasn't_ he?

"I don't know Will." Epps interrupted, leaning over and picking out a glaze from the box and taking a bite. "The chances aren't good. Cons probably would have killed 'em off long ago if they had 'em."

"That's just it," Will stated, spreading his hands. "_If_ they have them."

"What're you sayin'?" The Sargent asked curiously, his mouth full of doughnut and crumbs falling onto his fatigues.

"I've been thinking Rob," The Colonel began, weighting his words carefully. "What if the Decepticons never had them in the first place?"

Epps promptly chocked on the doughnut that he was trying to chew. "Huh?!"

Will waited until his friend's mouth and throat was clear of food before he continued. Rob downed a big swig of liquid gold and cleared his throat several times before re-conducting himself.

"Care to explain that one to me Will?"

Lennox took a deep breath, then pressed on. "What I mean Rob, is that maybe it's possible Ratchet was right from the very beginning. Maybe the Cons have nothing to do with the girls disappearance."

Epps gave the Colonel as doubtful look, "I know you want everything to work out in the end Will, but we have to be realistic. Who _else_ would want them? What other reason could there be?"

Will shook his head, but continued to insist. "I don't know about a reason for _why_, but think about it. I mean, really _think_ about it. If the Cons ever had them in the first place, then why did none of them ever boast about it? You and I both know that if Megatron ever had the upper hand, he would have used it."

A small glimpse of realization began to make its way across the Chief Sargent's face. "So wait, you're saying that if Megatron had them, he'd have rubbed it in our faces?"

The Colonel rolled his eyes at his friend before pounding the table with his fist. "Of course he would have! The guy doesn't know how to keep quiet! If he ever had any leverage or collateral damage against us, not to mention a chance to make Optimus squirm, he would have _used_ it!"

Awestruck, Epps put a hand to his head and took a deep breath to calm himself. "Ya got a point. Bucket Head's not one to waste opportunity."

"Exactly!" Will seconded, waving his forefinger at his friend and smiling.

The two men lapsed into several moments of silence before Rob spoke again.

"But then," He began quietly, looking down into the depths of his coffee mug and swirling the contents. His tone was almost hesitant. "If the Cons don't have 'em. Who does?"

The Colonel opened his mouth to respond, however, at that exact moment, the door to the office nearly flew off its hinges. A lone soldier stood in the doorway panting heavily and leaned over to get a good breath in before addressing the officer and Sargent.

"Sir! A Decepticon's been spotted in North Carolina!"

"What?!" Lennox and Epps cried in unison, both forgoing their breakfast and rising sharply to their feet.

The soldier heaved heavily in the effort to calm himself enough to speak clearly. "In the backwoods of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Looks like it's hanging around the northern part of Shenandoah National Park."

"What the hell is in North Carolina?" Epps asked rhetorically, turning to Will.

The Colonel merely set his face in a hard, unreadable expression then began gathering up a few essentials from his desk. "Not a damn clue but I'm not gonna wait around to find out."

Finding all that he needed, Will shot to his feet and strode quickly for the door. He stopped however, to addressed the now clearly nervous soldier who's left eye began to twitch. The Colonel sighed inwardly and clapped the man on the shoulder in order to help calm his nerves. The soldier had to be a recent transfer.

"Report this directly to Graham and First Sargent Donnelly." He told the man firmly, giving him a stern look. "Tell them exactly what you told me. Epps!" Will called over his shoulder to address the Sargent. "Get a scout team together. I'm going over to report this to Optimus. Hopefully we can catch this thing and find out just what the hell its up to."

Without waiting for an affirmative from either soldier, Lennox bolted from his office and made his way down to the other end of the hanger where it was more Autobot accessible. His office in particular could only accommodate humans. As he approached the giant door that lead to the Autobot leader's office, he mentally braced himself for Prime's reaction. They had been chasing random leads and Cons all over the globe for the past year searching. Will could only hope that maybe, just maybe, this was the break he'd been looking for. If not, then it would only confirm what Ratchet had said in the very beginning: the Cons were not involved.

He raised his fist and knocked loudly at the human sized door that was cut into the giant _robot_ sized door. In the back of his mind, Will thought the way this door was set up vaguely resembled the front door of Mike and Sulley's apartment complex in _Monsters Inc. _The only reason he knew the movie was because it was one of Annabelle's favorites and, not that he would tell anyone else, the movie was not half bad.

"Enter," Came a deep, rumbling baritone from the other side of the door.

Taking a deep breath, Will turned the latch and stepped into the giant office that served as Optimus Prime's center of work. Big Guy, that was how most of them referred to him as, was sitting behind a giant desk that made the Colonel think he was back in kindergarten, being summoned to the front of the teacher's desk because of misbehavior. He mentally shook off the feeling, he was a damn soldier for heaven's sake! Not a kindergartener!

"Colonel." The giant red and blue mech seemed greatly surprised to see him and set aside the datapad he had been studying to give the soldier his full attention.

"Optimus," Will greeted respectfully, stopping a good feet away from the desk so when the Prime raised his helm he wouldn't have to lean completely over the damn thing to see him. "A lone Decepticon has be spotted in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, deep in the backwoods. So far, no one knows why he's there. Do you want to intercept?"

Optimus maintained an expression of deep concern and leaned forward in order to converse with the human. "What do _you_ propose Will?" The Autobot leader asked, knowing full well of how personal the Colonel was taking tracking down Decepticons. "I believe this decision falls to you and to you alone."

"Me?" Will's face went slack in shock, then turned to puzzlement. "Why me? I'll be taking _your_ men, Optimus. I need the all clear."

"And you have it," The Prime answered, not missing a beat. "However, we have intercepted both rogue and enlisted Decepticons for the past human year and I have reason to doubt that the human femmes are within their clutches."

Will sighed. He knew it had to be only a matter of time for the Prime to reach the same conclusion that he himself had come to. Both of them could now see that the Cons did not have the girls. But, if they were wrong . . . Two girls lives were at stake and Lennox felt he owed it to them to _try_.

"I'm aware of the extreme probability of it Optimus," The Colonel spread his hands in helplessness before adding with a hint of steel in his tone. "But what if we're _wrong?_"

The Autobot leader pulled his helm back slightly in response to the man's faint, but clearly defined intensity. He knew all too well of the inner war conflicting within the Colonel. Prime knew that the man felt personally responsible for the girls fate and would do anything to ensure they were brought back into safe hands. He had a hunch that it, in a sense, hit home for him. Reflecting on the now flourishing nine year old sparkling, Optimus inwardly sighed. Lennox was thinking of his own child and how he would feel in anyone had taken her away from him. He also knew that the girls own creators would never feel that loss because they were ripped so violently away from them.

Though he would tell no one, not even his most trusted CMO, Ratchet, Prime understood and felt the Spark aching pain that coursed through the Colonel. He too had lost those who had become a part of his Spark. His men had the most effect on him as they were his source of strength and determination. Those he vowed to protect and serve no matter the cost. Protect freedom and humanity. Optimus too felt responsibility for the human femmes and wanted nothing more than to find and protect them. However, he had an obligation to his men and the continuing struggle against the Decepticons. He could not focus all his strength and energy on two human girls. It was a difficult choice that he now had to face.

"Will," The Prime stated sadly, his optics darkening a hue or two. "I understand the need you feel to continue your search. Truly, I do. However, we both have a duty and responsibility to our men and the rest of this planet. We must cease the search."

The Colonel physically looked as if the Prime had struck his with his own servo and had thrown him clear across the room. He quickly recovered however, and responded out of both hurt and anger.

"Even if we call off the search, then what?! Optimus, even if the Cons don't have them, we still can't just leave them out there!" Will shook his head rapidly and looked away from the Autobot leader to glare at the adjacent wall, then turned back to him with pleading eyes. "Not just because of the possibility of Cons holding them, but because they saw their own parents _murdered_ right in front of them! Optimus! They need more than just _physical_ stability, they need mental stability too! They need to know that there are people out there that actually _give_ a damn about them!"

With that, the Colonel threw out an arm in frustration and then ran his hands through his dark brown hair, exclaiming verbally in anger. The Autobot leader gazed sadly down at the man. This whole situation was wearing thin on the tiny human soldier and it showed. His whole appearance looked rugged and exhausted. If he continued down this path for much longer he was going to have to be sent home in order to relieve him of stress and that was not an option Will was going to take willingly.

At seeing how much Lennox stressed over the girls and their fate, he felt his own Spark give a painful pull. Despite the leader side of him telling himself it was all for not and to call off the search, Optimus felt that maybe, perhaps, one more try couldn't hurt. Just one more. After that, he would have no choice but to completely forgo the mission.

"Colonel," The Prime gently, but firmly, urged the human soldier to meet his gaze. Once the man had complied, he continued, "I have not forgotten the joy a sparkling can give to, and for, others. My own race has since lost most, if not all, chances of ever another one coming into being. With that in mind, I do not wish for these two to join the hundreds of innocent and young lives that have already been lost."

He paused for a moment, then pressed forward, "If there is a slim hope these sparklings can be found, I only pray you will reach them in time. I grant you one finale search Will, though I fear, one is all we can allow."

The Colonel's face immediately brightened considerably and a genuine smile spread across his features like wildfire.

"Thank you Optimus." Relief filling the man and strengthening his determination. "I'll get a team together and set out in an hour or so. Anyone in particular you think should go?"

The Prime sighed, then grew silent as he contemplated on which of his soldiers would be best suited to the mission. He needed several who could adapt to the harsh wilderness climate, have enough patience to lie in wait for the enemy to strike, and if they did come across the human femmes, bots that would cause them the LEAST panic. Or, at the very least, had a friendly disposition and would make them feel at ease. The two that came to mind right away were Bumblebee and Sideswipe.

Bumblebee for obvious reasons. The scout was one of his most trusted men due to his patience, resourcefulness, and his ability to be at ease among humans. He was naturally kind and gentle, never moving too fast that he would frighten or put a human being on edge. He cared about the well-beings of those who were physically weaker than himself and would put his own Spark on the line in order to protect them. The fact that the mech was barely out of his youngling stage didn't phase the Autobot leader in the slightest. He had gained much understanding over the course of the war and the fact he was so young only served as an asset rather than a burden. He was able to adapt easily to humans and their culture, thus helping the older soldiers become more trustworthy of the small race.

Sideswipe on the other hand, was a different story. Optimus felt the reason Sideswipe should accompany Lennox and the human scout team was because of his seasoned battle skills. He was a very experienced warrior and though Bumblebee was perfectly capable of taking down a seasoned Decepticon, it put the leader's mind at ease to know that someone with more battle experience was there to back the scout up if things went south. It didn't hurt matters either that Sideswipe was just as easy going as the scout and both possessed the ability to put humans at ease when they came into contact with them. The only thing Prime had to worry about with the frontliner was if he could restrain his natural curiosity.

But be that as it may, Optimus was confident that Sideswipe would keep his helm in the mission and focus on the situation at hand.

"I believe Sideswipe and Bumblebee to be the best choices for this particular assignment." The Autobot leader concluded, then added as an afterthought, "I suggest Sunstreaker accompany your team as well; he will not tolerate being separated from his twin for such a period of time."

Lennox frowned slightly. Taking the new frontliner along on such a crucial mission when he had barely interacted with humans, let alone two scared girls, did not sit well with him. He was very well aware of the impenetrable sibling bond the two mechs shared, but letting the incredibly distant and quite cold Sunstreaker be apart of the search party seemed a bit much in his personal opinion. He really had nothing against the yellow mech, but his indifferent and quite moody attitude clashed violently with Bee's more laid back and happy nature. Sideswipe didn't count because he was Sunstreaker's twin. Now matter how different the two of them were (_and they were most definitely at the opposite ends of the spectrum_), the Lamborghini twins worked best together. Being connected through their bond allowed them to sense each others movements and to communicate without the use of a comm. Most of the time they never even had to use words, a comm, or talk through their bond. They could just sense the others movements on the spot and act accordingly.

Thus was the confusing and highly rare abilities of Split-Spark twins. Technically, each of their Sparks was only a half of a whole. When their Spark came into existence it was whole but, for some reason no one seemed to know, the moment their creator moved to place the Spark within its frame, it split into two separate Sparks! Thus, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were essentially to halves of a whole. Perhaps this explained why they were so vastly different from each other, yet worked better together than apart. Sideswipe was the cheerful, mischievous one while Sunstreaker was more serious, violent, and didn't take bullshit from anyone. They pretty much completed the other. It drove most of everybody and every bot on base off the fricken wall, but Will had begun to see it as an unstoppable force that no one could control.

"I suppose I don't have much choice." Will sighed, rubbing his forehead and trying no to think about the chaos that would most likely ensue if he went against it. "Sunstreaker's gonna have to reign in that mood of his if we're to get anything done. And Sideswipe better not play any pranks along the way."

Prime gave a small chuckle, "Colonel, as rambunctious and out of hand the two of them can be, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker understand the seriousness and complete focus that must go into a mission. They are capable, they just wish to be themselves most of the time when the situation doesn't call for it." Optimus must have remembered something because he then added, "With the exception of Sunstreaker. He is serious and stern around everyone else except his brother, but even then it's not all that detectable."

"True," Lennox nodded in agreement then checked his watch. He better get a move on before they lost the trail. "I need to let Bee, Sides, and Sunstreaker know. Then I've got to see that the human scout team is ready to deploy."

"Yes," The Optimus confirmed, nodding back at the human soldier. "Will-"

The brown haired man, who had crossed the room to the human size door, stopped and turned around to face the Autobot commander. "Yeah, Optimus?"

The giant red and blue mech's gaze was serious and yet, there was an underlying sadness hidden right underneath the surface of his bright blue optics. "I pray you find these girls. Their very future I believe is at stake and it is imperative that they are brought to a place were they can be cared for and given peace. In both mind and body."

Will offered him a grim smile, "You and me both Big Guy. You and me both."

Then he turned and marched out of the giant office, leaving Optimus to his datapad and for Lennox to get two Autobot frontliners and an Autobot scout together. They were going to North Carolina. Will could only hope the weather would in their favor. The last thing they needed was to track a Decepticon in a snowstorm, in the middle of a mountain range, and far from civilization. As much as he liked camping, he wasn't in the mood for doing so with two Autobots who would most likely end up in a shouting match.

"Why North Carolina?"

**I know! I haven't updated in like, forever! I'm so sorry! I'll try and get the next one up sooner but no promises. My chapters may start coming slower than usual. TBhis is due to work and another story I've been working on. That and my muse on this one isn't working the way I want to.**

**Please leave a review in the box below! Many thanks!**


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